Mary's Song
by SparrowEyedGirl
Summary: Maryanne Walsh-Grimes' world had ended far before everyone else's did. But, that all changes when a box truck pulls into her camp. Rick/OC, non-cannon Shane/Lori. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh hi there. Welcome to Mary's Song.**

**This is my second Walking Dead fic, the first one is called Surviving Today, if you're interested.**

**This was just a random idea I had as I was listening to Taylor Swift's Mary's Song (Oh My My My). So, if you want to get a general idea... Go ahead and give it a listen!**

**Obviously, this is a Rick/OC fic. So, what about Carl and Lori? Well, Lori's married to Shane and Carl is their son. Bam.**

**I don't own anything. Enjoy!**

Prologue

Maryanne Grimes woke to find the other side of the bed cold and empty. It didn't surprise her, she had a habit of sleeping in when she didn't have to open her restaurant, and since that was a day her husband had to work, she always woke to this.

All alone in her house, since she had no children or pets, she showered and went down the stairs, her feet bare. She sat down at her computer, making online orders for her restaurant and looking at the accounts.

When her cell phone rang, she immediately picked it up and answered, expecting it to be a company she'd contacted.

"Maryanne Grimes."

"So formal?"

Maryanne laughed at her husband's remark, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder to continue typing. "Sorry, darlin', I thought you were someone else."

"And who did you think I was?"

Maryanne rolled her eyes. "My secret lover."

She heard Rick laugh, and she did too. She, then, caught sight of the clock, which read 12:45. Rick would be heading out for his lunch break right about now, if he hadn't already. Maryanne sighed and cursed. She'd meant to bring him something.

"Somethin' wrong?"

"Ah, I'm just an idiot."

"Forget to do somethin'?"

"You know me too well," Maryanne said with a smile on her face. "How's everythin' goin'?"

"Nothin' interestin' so far, Shane and I are headin' out to get somethin' to eat."

"Well, I take comfort in knowin' somethin' ain't goin' wrong. I've gotta get back to focusin' on this, I'll talk to you soon."

"Love you."

"Love you too, Rick."

They hung up, and Maryanne couldn't deny the sudden feeling of dread.

Orders and finances done, Maryanne flicked on her radio and started to make dinner. Her sister-in-law, Lori, always joked how she was a 1950's housewife whenever she was home. Maryanne always rolled her eyes, but in truth, she knew she was. Maryanne didn't mind.

A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts, and she dried her hands before turning off the radio. She opened the door.

"Shane!" she said, smiling at her older brother. He returned the smile, but not like he normally did.

"Come on in," she said, and he did. Maryanne shut the door behind him.

"You hungry? I don't have anythin' now, but-"

"Nah, it's okay, Mary. I can't stay."

Maryanne looked back at her older brother, and frowned. He wasn't his normal self.

"What's wrong, Shane? You and Lori get into it again?"

Shane shook his head. "Nah... we're fine... it's uh... well, it's Rick."

Maryanne stared at him for a moment, her heart sinking. She had expected this – he was a Sheriff.

"Is he dead?" she asked quietly. Shane shook his head.

"We got a call. Two guys stole a car. We didn't see the third... he's in a coma."

Maryanne sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, running her hands through her hair – a tick both her and her brother possessed.

"Mary... you want me to stay?"

"No... no, I'll be fine. Go on home, I'll be fine, Shane."

"You're sure?"

Maryanne nodded, accepted the embrace from her brother, and watched him leave.

She felt so numb.

**Well... there's that.**

**Let me know what you think in a review, I'd love to hear it. If I get a good response, I'll post the first chapter either later tonight or tomorrow. Most likely, later tonight.**

**I hope you all enjoyed and have a lovely Sunday. Thanks for reading!**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again everyone, and to everyone who just clicked on this story; welcome!**

**In honor of Walking Dead day tomorrow (WHICH I AM SO EXCITED FOR), here's an update. It would have been here sooner, since I love the response I'm getting, but I either forgot or I just didn't have time. Sorry about that.**

**I hope you all enjoy! I don't own anything except for Mary.**

Chapter One

Rick saw the blinding white ceiling of the hospital room, heard the heart monitor beeping. He saw the blurred outline of his best friend, his wife behind him. She stepped around her brother and smiled at him.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said. He felt her fingers in his hair. "We're still here, we're still hangin' on..."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shane set down a vase of flowers. Mary smiled.

"Everyone at the station pitched in on those. They send their love and... we hope you come back real soon..."

"Linda and Diane from dispatch, they picked them out... guess you could tell, huh?" Shane said, his voice breaking. Rick saw Mary take her brother's hand.

Rick longed to reach out and touch Mary's curled hair, tell them both he was awake, he could see them. But, they were gone before he could.

"That vase – that's somethin' special," he said, hoping they could hear him before they left the room. "'Fess up, Shane, did you steal that from your grandma Jean's house? Hope you left her that spoon collection."

He laughed, but it was cut off by a fit of coughing. Jesus, his throat was dry.

"Mary?" he called when there was only silence. "Shane?"

He looked over, and no one was there. The flowers were dried up. He looked around. The clocks weren't working. The heart monitor wasn't beeping. It was too quiet.

Slowly and shakily, Rick sat up. Using his I.V. pole, he tried to stand, but it ended with both him and the pole clattering to the floor. Frustrated, he ripped out the I.V.'s needle with a shaking hand.

He called out for a nurse, but no one answered.

He managed to stand on his own, and found the door to the bathroom, ripping gauze off his arm as he went. He stared at the mirror, scarcely recognizing himself. Mary would've killed him, had she seen him like this...

He turned on the sink, drinking the water greedily, his dry throat relishing.

After a few moments, he turned off the sink and exited the hospital room, entering a dim hallway with flashing emergency lights.

He moved a mobile bed from his path, and walked over to an alcove. He saw a phone, and immediately picked it up, dialing his home number. He had to call Mary, he had to let her know he was okay.

There was one problem; there was no ringing on the other end. There was no dial tone. There was nothing.

He walked through the empty hallways, picking up a small box of matches on the way.

He came across the gray doors to the cafeteria, which were padlocked shut with a wooden plank in the handles. It was spray painted, the message reading "Don't open, dead inside."

The doors opened, and pale, rotted hands began to reach towards him. He exhaled shakily and left, using the fire exit to leave the hospital. The light of the sun blinded him, but he managed to stumble down the stairs. He walked between rows of dead bodies. Hollow eyes stared up at nothing, flies buzzed around the stained cloth. Row after row after row...

_What the hell happened here?_

Rick Grimes knew he had to get home, he had to get back to Mary. He began to walk, knowing the small town of King County like the back of his hand. When he came across a bike, he walked over and picked it up, thanking whatever higher power.

He ignored the body that was missing everything from the waist down. He kept his thoughts focused on his wife, his best friend and his family.

Rick came out of his thoughts when he heard a growling. He slowly looked around, and his eyes rested on the half of a body, which was now alive and snapping at him.

"Ah! Oh, shit!"

He fell to the ground, staring at the body that was trying to crawl over to him. Slowly, he stood and got on the bike, riding away from the body making animal-like noises. He rode to his home, where the front door was wide open and the clear door in front of it was barely open. He entered the home, using the front door to support his tired body.

"Mary," he called. No answer. He looked around the familiar house, looking for any sign of his wife.

"Mary!" he called again, louder. She didn't answer.

"Shane!" he tried, hoping maybe she wasn't home, but his friend was. "Mary!"

There was still no answer. He feared for the worst, since their home looked ransacked.

"_Maryanne_!" he yelled. Silence met his calls. His hands met the ground.

"_Mary_!"

He began to sob now, before he curled up on the ground, still begging for his wife.

"Is this real?" he asked quietly, after he had calmed a little. "Am I here?"

He didn't know. Everything felt real, the floor, the belongings in their home, even the shirt he had found that belonged to Mary.

"Wake- wake up..." he begged himself.

But he didn't. He remained in his house, wondering what happened.

He exited the home after a few minutes of more searching, sitting on the stoop. The hot sun stung his bare feet, but he no longer cared. His wife, the one woman he loved more than life, was gone. He hoped she was with her brother, but he didn't know, and it was absolutely killing him.

Rick saw a man walking down the street, and waved to him. Maybe he knew what happened. The man walked closer, and Rick struggled to see who it was.

He didn't hear anyone approach until a twig snapped. He turned, and a shovel caught him in the face. His back met the ground, and he tasted blood. He looked up at the boy, who looked so much like his nephew...

"Carl... Carl, I found you..." if Carl was here, Shane and Lori couldn't be too far behind, and Mary could be with them.

He looked to his right and watched as the man he had seen in the street was shot in the head. He fell to the ground, lifeless, and the murderer ran over. Rick's breathing quickened.

"He say somethin'? I thought I heard him say somethin'!"

"He called me Carl!"

"Son, you know they don't talk."

Rick was completely confused. "They"? Why couldn't "they" talk? Why had he murdered that man?

"Hey mister, what's that bandage for?" the man demanded.

"Wh... what?"

"What kind of wound?" he asked, aiming his gun at Rick's head.

Rick tried to tell them he was shot, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

"You answer me, damn you! What's your wound? You tell me... or I _will _kill you."

But Rick passed out before he could answer.

**An entire chapter from Rick's view, what?**

**Truth be told, I was going to do an entire story just from one character's view, but it didn't work out. They don't give us too much of the camp before Rick struts back in.**

**Anyway, leave me a review and tell me what you think of the first chapter! Thanks for reading, I hope you guys have a great day!**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

Maryanne couldn't remember how long it had been since Shane had come into her home, confirming the news reports, and telling her Rick was dead. Since she had numbly packed up everything she could and tried to evacuate to Atlanta. Since they had bombed the streets and a group of people created their own safe zone.

Maryanne found she only had the strength to focus on the day, and she did. She was a strong woman, truly, but life had just thrown too much at her at once. So, she would focus on what needed to be done – laundry, cooking, watching the kids – and when she went to bed, she just repeated what she did the day prior.

She hardly recognized herself anymore. Her laugh lines were a bit more prominent now, her brown eyes no longer filled with laughter and life, and her hair always pulled back, where it had always been down and curled.

Maryanne sighed and went back to her tent. She sat down in a nestle of blankets and pulled a small photo album out of her bag. She flipped it open, smiling at the pictures it contained.

"Mary?"

Maryanne looked up to see Lori, and she smiled at her sister-in-law and long time best friend. She managed a smile for the woman.

"You alright?" Lori asked, and Maryanne nodded.

"Yeah... I am."

And she would be, for today.

Since Rick had woken up, he'd killed three walkers, taken what guns he could from the station, and he was now driving towards Atlanta when the car stalled. Rick sighed, knowing the car needed gas. He got out, taking the guns and a gas can with him, and walked until he saw a house.

"Hello?" he called. "Police officer out here. Can I borrow some gas?"

When there was no answer, he walked around the house, knocking on doors and looking through windows to see if anyone was home.

He sighed when he saw the residents of the home dead. He sighed, stepping off the porch. He opened the truck door, hoping that the keys were in the ignition, but no such luck.

Rick slammed the door shut, and just when he was about to give up and continue walking, he heard the sound of a horse. He found himself smiling.

He grabbed a rope and entered the yard, walking towards the dark colored horse. The horse neighed and backed away.

"Easy now, easy," Rick said. "I'm not gonna hurt ya... nothin' like that. More like a... proposal. Atlanta's just down the road a ways, it's safe there. Food, shelter, people... other horses, too, I bet. How's that sound?"

The horse let him slip the rope around its neck, and Rick smiled again. He admired how much he looked like a horse Mary used to own.

_She's gonna love this._

"There we go, good boy... now come with me, come on."

He lead the horse away, put a saddle and reigns on him, and went in the direction of Atlanta.

"Let's go easy, okay?" he said to the horse. "I haven't done this for years."

Since he was about seventeen, in fact...

S_hane drove to a horse stable, saying that he needed to pick up his sister and Lori. Rick didn't understand why Shane had told him he should come, since he and Lori had already broken up and Mary was always too shy to speak, but he did anyway._

_ Shane parked the car and went into the barn._

_ "Mary! Where are ya, ya lil' punk?" Shane called to his sixteen year old sister._

_ "Over here! Lori ain't with me, though. I'll let you find her yourself."_

_ Shane rolled his eyes at his younger sister and went off in search of Lori, and Rick walked in the direction of Mary's voice, his hands in his pockets._

_ He found her in front of a stall, petting a dark brown horse with a white nose. Dark hair fell to the middle of her back, usually straight and curled upward at the ends, and wide, brown eyes seemed to look right through you when she looked at you. On days like today, she went without make-up, not that she even needed it, her face naturally flawless. Truth be told, Rick always thought she was pretty, but he'd never tell Shane that._

_ She looked over, and smiled slightly, her cheeks flaming pink._

_ "Afternoon," he said._

_ "Yeah, same to you," she replied quietly. Rick walked closer, standing next to her. The horse looked at him warily, and Maryanne smiled._

_ "Don't worry 'bout him, he ain't the best judge of character."_

_ "He trusts you," Rick pointed out._

_ "No one bites the hand that feeds them," Maryanne replied. She stepped inside the stall, where she threw a horse blanket on its back, followed by a saddle. Rick was content just watching her, and she seemed content in the silence._

_ "Wanna come?"_

_ Rick raised an eyebrow, causing Maryanne to smile._

_ "Goin' for a ride. You wanna come?"_

_ "Oh, I don't..."_

_ "Shane and Lori probably won't make an appearance for awhile, if they haven't already left yet."_

_ "Shane wouldn't leave without ya."_

_ "If Lori was with him? Yeah, he would," Maryanne said quietly. "I got no problem with it, I like knowin' he cares about her."_

_ She looked up at him with her warm eyes. "Well? What do ya say?"_

That day, Rick and Mary began to talk more, and her shy demeanor deteriorated by the day. Soon after she'd graduated, her horse, Spirit, passed away. Mary never went back to that stable, trying hard to forget.

But Rick would never forget.

Atlanta was just up ahead. The horse stopped, and he took in the dead landscape and the abandoned cars. He sighed and urged the horse forward, and they came into the city.

The horse was uneasy, and so was he. Everything was dead, it was so quiet...

They ran into a few walkers, but Rick paid them no mind. He didn't pay much mind until he heard a sound very familiar to him.

Rick looked up to see the reflection of a helicopter on a building. He pushed the horse forward, pursuing it.

Only he wished he hadn't.

He went to turn a corner, and ran straight into a herd of walkers. He exhaled and went back, trying to find his way back out of the city, but there were walkers everywhere, and they were coming after him.

"Oh, shit," he said. He tried to turn around again, but the creatures were surrounding both him and the horse. Rotted hands grabbed at him, and he and the horse fell to the ground.

They were on the horse first, and Rick didn't have time to look twice, didn't have time to grab the bag of guns, didn't even have time to feel guilty. He crawled away from the creatures, under a nearby tank.

"Oh, God," he muttered, over and over. He wasn't getting out of this, he knew that. He was surrounded.

He pulled out his gun, shooting a few, but he knew it wasn't enough.

"I'm sorry, Mary," he said, pointing the gun to his head. But he couldn't do it. All he saw was her smile and her eyes, all he heard was her laugh, and he couldn't do it.

Instead, he climbed into the tank, closing the entrance and backing away.

Panting, he pulled a gun out of the holster of the dead man next to him, and began to inspect it.

He heard the growls, and looked over to see said dead man alive and snarling at him. Thinking quickly, he shot the walker, but regretted it a moment later. High-pitched ringing filled his ears, and wouldn't stop. He withered on the ground, clenching his teeth in pain.

And then, he saw it.

An open entrance to the top of the tank.

Slowly, Rick stood and looked out. The walkers were still surrounding the tank, and the bag of guns were still laying on the street. He thought maybe he could get away, run with whatever weapons he had, but no such luck. Some had seen him, and he was forced to shut and lock the entrance while they pounded on the metal.

He didn't know what he was going to do. Even with both guns, there weren't that many rounds. It would be suicide, trying to go out there.

Rick sat for a few moments, sweat pouring down his face.

"Hey, you. Dumbass."

Rick looked over at the radio.

"Yeah, you in the tank. Are you cozy in there?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Maryanne was sitting across from her nephew, absentmindedly playing with her necklace which held Rick's wedding band.

"Aunt Mary?"

Maryanne looked up, and smiled at Carl.  
>"Yeah?"<p>

"You okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine, just thinkin'."

Carl nodded. That's what Mary loved about him, he never asked too many questions. It came with being young, she guessed.

"Dale, I'm heading out," Maryanne heard Lori say. "Sweetheart, I want you to stay where Dale or Mary can see you, okay?"

"Yes, mom."

"You, too," Mary said. "Don't wander too far, stay within shoutin' distance, and if ya see anythin', holler."

Lori rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom."

Mary rolled her eyes as well, resisting the urge to throw something at her.

With the day passing uneventfully, Maryanne was growing fidgety, and was glad for the distraction of hanging laundry.

"He tried to save Rick, you know," Lori said when she caught Maryanne looking at her brother and his son. Maryanne nodded.

"I know he did. Even if he didn't, after everythin' he's done, it would be hard to be mad at him. He wouldn't allow it, anyway, that's just Shane."

"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?"

Maryanne and Lori set down the clothes and gathered around the R.V.

"Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this end. Repeat, repeat."

"Shane, is that you?"

"Is that them?" Lori asked.

"We're in some deep shit," T-Dog told them. "We're trapped in the department store."

"He say they're trapped?" Shane asked.

"There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of 'em, we're surrounded."

"T-Dog, repeat that last, repeat."

Static.

"He said the department store..." Lori said.

"I heard it, too," Dale told them.

"Shane," Maryanne said to her older brother.

"No way," he replied. "We do not go after them, we do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that."

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy, who's sister was with the group in the department store, demanded.

"Amy, I know that this is not easy-"

"She volunteered to go! To help the rest of us!"

"I know. And she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped... she's gone. We just have to deal with that."

"She's my sister you son of a bitch!" Amy growled, running off. Maryanne sighed. She knew her brother was right, they couldn't risk anyone else, but he shouldn't have told her like that.

Rain started to fall.

Maryanne was sitting with her brother, his wife, and her nephew, folding some clothes. Lori was giving her son a haircut – which he wouldn't sit still for – and Shane was cleaning his gun.

"Hey, the more you fidget the longer it takes, darlin'," she told Carl, who scrunched his nose.

"I'm trying!"

"Well, try harder," Maryanne said, laughing.

"You think this is bad, wait till ya start shavin'. That stings. That day comes, you'll be beggin' for one of your momma's haircuts."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Carl grumbled back, and his father laughed.

"I'll tell ya what, you just get through this with some manly dignity, and tomorrow I'll teach ya somethin' special. I will teach you to catch frogs."

"I've caught a frog before," Carl contradicted.

"I said frogs," his father replied. "Plural. And it is an art, my friend, it is not to be taken lightly."

Maryanne snorted, earning a glare from her brother. This only caused her to smile more.

"There are ways and means few people know about. I'm willin' to share my secrets," he continued.

Carl looked back at his mother, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm a girl, you talk to him," she told him, turning his head back to Shane.

"It's a one-time offer, bud, not to be repeated.

"Why do we need frogs, plural?"

"Ever eat frog legs?"

"Eww!" Carl yelled.

"No, yum!" Shane replied.

"Gonna have to agree with my brother on this one," Maryanne replied, laughing.

"No, Carl's right, eww," Lori said.

"Ah, when you get down to that last can of beans, you're gonna be lovin' those frog legs, lady!" he said. "I can see it now – 'Shane, do you think I could have a second helping, please? Just one?'"

Maryanne tried to hide her smile at her brother's impression of Lori, but Lori saw and glared at the both of them, though she was smiling as well.

"Yeah, I doubt that," she said.

"Don't listen to her, man. You and me, we'll be heroes. We'll feed these folks Cajun-style Kermit legs."

"I would rather eat Miss Piggy," Lori grumbled, then paused as she noted the looks Shane and Maryanne gave her. "Yes, that came out wrong."

The siblings laughed, and even Lori couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Heroes, son, spoken of in song and legend. You and me – Shane and Carl."

"Yeah, I'm sure you and your son will be the only heroes mentioned ever again because they fed some people during the zombie apocalypse," Maryanne replied sarcastically.

A car alarm broke through their conversation, and Maryanne was immediately alert.

"Hey, Dale, can you see what that is?" Shane asked. "Talk to me, Dale!"

"I can't tell yet," the older man replied.

"Is it them?" Amy asked frantically. "Are they back?"

"I'll be damned..."

"What is it?"

"Stolen car is my guess," Dale answered.

Maryanne's eyebrows furrowed, and she watched as a red Mustang pulled into the camp.

"Holy crap, turn that damn thing off!"

"I don't know how!"

"Pop the hood, please. Pop the damn hood, please."

"My sister, Andrea-"

"Pop the damn hood!"

"What? Okay, okay!"

Glenn got in the car and opened the hood of the car, answering Amy's questions about her sister, and Shane disabled the alarm. Silence rang in Maryanne's ears.

"Why isn't she with you?" Amy demanded. "Where is she? She's okay?"

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is. Well... Merle, not so much."

Maryanne sighed. Nobody would miss him, probably not even his brother.

"You crazy, drivin' this wailin' bastard up here? You tryin' to draw every walker for miles?" Shane demanded, and Maryanne pinched the bridge of her nose.

_Here he goes..._

"I think we're okay..." Dale replied.

"You call being stupid 'okay'?"

"Well, that alarm was echoing all over these hills, hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying."

"He's right, Shane," Maryanne said. She knew her brother didn't like Dale – she didn't exactly know why. "We're okay."

"It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?"

"Would y'all just leave him alone?" Maryanne snapped, causing silence. "He's just a kid."

"I'm sorry," Glenn finally said. "I got a cool car."

Maryanne rolled her eyes, and watched as another car rolled in, this one being a large box truck. The people who'd gone on the run – Morales, T-Dog, Jacqui, and Andrea, stepped out, and were reunited with families, if they had one. Maryanne found she couldn't look.

She heard someone approach her, and felt hands take her own. She looked up to see her best friend.

"Hey, you okay?" Lori asked, and Maryanne nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be okay..." Maryanne told her.

"You still have us, okay? You know that?"

Maryanne nodded, and accepted Lori's embrace.

"How'd y'all get outta there anyway?" she heard Shane ask.

"New guy, he got us out."

"New guy?"

"Yeah. Crazy _vato_ just got into town," Morales replied. "Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!"

Silence.

Then...

"Uncle Rick!"

Maryanne froze. That was Carl's voice. He only had one uncle, only one named Rick...

She pulled away from Lori...

And the rest of the world disappeared as she locked eyes with the one person she had missed more than anything.

"Oh, my God," she heard him whisper. He walked towards her, and the tears in her eyes spilled onto her face. She ran to him, and he caught her in an embrace. She felt his face in her hair, and she smiled.

"Is this real?" she whispered into his neck. If it wasn't, it was the best dream she had had in weeks.

"It is, I promise you," he said, a hand coming to her loose hair. "I'm here, Mary."

She smiled, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. She was well aware that everyone was watching them, but she didn't care. She had her husband back, nothing could ruin this moment.

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest... disoriented."

He tightened his hold on Mary, and took a minute before continuing. He was so glad to have her back, so grateful that Glenn had unintentionally lead him to his wife.

"Fear, confusion, all of those things but... disoriented comes closest."

"Words can be meager things," an older man – he was sure Mary had said his name was Dale – told him. "Sometimes, they fall short."

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For awhile, I thought I was trapped in some coma dream – somethin' I might not wake up from ever."

He felt Mary's hand on his forearm, and he smiled down at her.

"Mom and dad said you died," his nephew told him sadly.

"They had every reason to believe that," Rick told him. "Don't you ever doubt it."

He didn't miss Mary's glare at Shane. They'd gotten into it earlier – she'd accused him of lying to her about him dying, he told her he was just mistaken. She didn't believe him.

"When things got really bad, the hospital told me they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta," Mary told him stiffly. "It never happened. Shane went to go check in and... well, you know the rest."

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell," Rick told her. "From the look of that hospital, it got overrun."

"Looks don't deceive. I barely got them out."

"I can't tell ya how grateful I am to you, Shane," Rick told his friend. "I can't begin to express it."

"There go those words falling short again," Dale mused, and he felt Mary laugh slightly. "Paltry things."

Mary's head jerked to the left at the sound of wood clattering, and she sighed.

"Hey, Ed? You wanna rethink that log?" Shane asked.

"It's cold, man," Ed replied. Mary exhaled angrily, and Rick looked down at her. She just shook her head.

"Cold don't change the rules, does it?" Shane said. "Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold. You should go mind your own business for once."

"Rot in hell, you bastard," he heard Mary mutter.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind," Dale said when Shane came back from talking to Ed.

"And when was Daryl ever happy about anythin'?" Mary asked.

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key, it's on me," T-Dog replied.

"I cuffed him, that makes it mine," Rick told him.

"Hey," Mary started, and both men looked at her. "Every man gets what he deserves. Don't you dare blame yourselves, alright?"

"We could lie," Amy suggested.

"He'd find out eventually," Mary contradicted. "We tell the truth."

"Merle was out of control," Andrea added. "Something had to be done, or he'd have gotten us killed."

She looked at Mary before continuing. "Your husband did what was necessary."

Mary nodded. "I believe that. If Merle got left behind, ain't nobody's fault but his."

"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise – we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I was scared, and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it."

"We were all scared, we all ran. What's your point?"

"I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow – maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that. Not that chain, not that padlock. My point; Dixon's alive, and he's still up there, handcuffed to that roof. That's on us."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

Maryanne laid down in the tent after she'd dressed in an oversized baseball shirt, draping a comforter over her and Rick, who laid down behind Maryanne, taking one of her hands in his own.

"I knew I would find you," he told her, kissing her hair. She smiled.

"You're gettin' cocky now," she said.

"No, no, I knew," he replied. "Walkin' into our home, findin' an empty house-"

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. She did regret leaving the home, especially now that she knew he was alive.

"I _knew _you were alive," he told her.

"How?" she asked quietly.

"The photos were gone," he replied. "All of our albums."

Mary laughed and kissed his hand before grabbing a photo album from her bag.

"I told you so," he said, and Maryanne rolled her eyes.

"Now you're gettin' cocky, huh?"

He smiled at her, and she sighed.

"I really thought I'd never see you again," she told him, looking at him once again. "I'm so sorry, for everything. When you were in the hospital, I regretted all of the bad times, all the arguing..."

Though they rarely fought, it still happened, mainly when they found out that they couldn't have children. At some points, it almost came to a divorce.

She was about to continue, but she let Rick kiss her instead. She smiled, and pulled away when she remembered the necklace she was wearing. She pulled the chain out from under her shirt, showing him the pendant with a small smile.

"I wondered where that went," he mused. Her smile widened, and she unfastened the chain, allowing him to slide the wedding ring back on his finger. Rick turned his attention back to her, and his fingers tangled in her hair. She smiled yet again – grateful he was there to look at her like that once again.

"Mornin', officer," Maryanne greeted playfully when she saw Rick walking towards her.

"Hey," he replied.

"You sleep okay?" she asked him.

"Better than in a long time," he told her, and she laughed, her cheeks heating.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you," she replied. "Figured you could use it."

She looked up to see him staring at her. "What?"

"I've been thinkin' 'bout the man we left behind."

Mary sighed and hung a shirt up to dry before facing Rick fully.

"Do you feel like you need to do this, Rick?"

"I don't know..."

"Well, are you askin' me or tellin' me?"

"Askin', Mary."

"Well, I think it's crazy. But I learned a long time ago that if you feel like you need to do somethin', there's no stoppin' you."

They were interrupted by a woman screaming. Both of them looked at each other before running towards the noise, where they found Jacqui, Carl, and Sophia running out of the woods. The mothers of the two children embraced them, and Maryanne knelt in front of Jacqui.

"You alright? Nothin' got you?"

Jacqui shook her head, and Maryanne sighed before helping her up. She looked behind her, and saw most of the men attacking a walker that was eating a doe. She sighed and turned to Lori and Carol.

"Let's get them back," she told the women, who nodded and walked back to their camp.

Maryanne didn't even have to look up when she heard someone call for Merle. There was only one person who didn't know.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you," she heard Shane say. She looked at Lori, who probably looked the same as she did. The two sat on the stairs to the R.V., hoping nothing would go terribly wrong.

"'Bout what?"

"'Bout Merle. There was a, uh... problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?"

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't."

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Rick interjected.

"Who're you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes?" Daryl asked mockingly. Maryanne rolled her eyes. "You got somethin' you wanna tell me?!"

"Your brother was a danger to us all so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked 'im to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on, lemmie process this. You sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

_This isn't going well..._

"Yeah."

Maryanne flinched, and found Lori's hand on her forearm, when Daryl lunged at Rick, though Shane managed to subdue him.

"You'd best let me go!"

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal!"

Maryanne shook her head, smiling subtly.

"You can file a complaint," Shane told him. "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic," Rick told him. "Ya think we can manage that?"

"Yeah," Daryl replied hesitantly and quietly. Shane released him, and backed away. Lori let go of her arm, and Maryanne stood, leaning against the doorway of the R.V.

"What I did was not on a whim," Rick said. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key... I dropped it," T-Dog added.

"Couldn't pick it up?" Daryl demanded.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain."

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't," he told T-Dog after he stood.

"Maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him... with a padlock."

"It's gotta count for somethin'," Rick said.

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so I can go get 'im."

"He'll show you," Maryanne told him. "Ain't that right?"

Rick slowly nodded. "I'm goin' back."

"I don't, okay, Rick? So could you just – could ya throw me a bone here, man?"

Maryanne rolled her eyes at her brother. He'd known Rick his entire life – as had she, but she didn't really talk to him for sixteen years of it – he should know as well as she did why Rick was going.

"Could ya just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"

"Hey, Shane," she called, afraid of setting Daryl off again. He looked at her. "Choose your words more carefully."

"No, I did, Mary," he replied. "Douche bag is what I meant.

He looked back at Rick before continuing. "Merle Dixon... guy wouldn't give ya a glass of water if you were dyin' of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. _I _can't let a man die of thirst – me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap, that's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori argued. Maryanne gave her a look.

Rick sighed and looked at Glenn.

"Oh, come on," he protested.

"You know the way. You've been there before – in and out, no problem, you said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would, too," Rick replied, ending with a gesture at Maryanne.

"That's just great, now you're gonna risk three men, huh?" Shane said, receiving a glare from his sister and wife.

"Four," T-Dog added.

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl asked.

"You see anybody else here steppin' up to save your brother's cracker ass?"

"Why you?"

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."

"That's four," Dale said.

"It's not just four. You're puttin' every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that walker! It was here, it was in camp! They're movin' out of the cities – they come back, we need every able body we got. We need 'em here, we need 'em to protect camp!"

"Seems what you really need most here are more guns."

"Right... the guns..." Glenn said.

"Wait, what guns?" Maryanne asked.

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns," Rick answered. "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed – it's just sittin' there on the street, waitin' to be picked up."

"Ammo?" Shane asked.

"700 rounds, assorted."

"You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori protested.

"I don't want you to go," Carl added.

"To hell with the guns – Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with the guns!"

"Y'all ain't makin' this any easier," Maryanne snapped. Rarely did she ever snap at her friend and her son, but Lori had no right to be more upset than she was. "He's goin', and you can't stop him."

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy," Rick said. He looked at Maryanne, knowing she didn't fully understand, she just accepted he was leaving and there wasn't a thing she could do. "If they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them I made it back at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta, they'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"What's stoppin' you?" she asked, standing.

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"These are walkies?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

"So use the C.B., what's wrong with that?" Andrea asked.

"The C.B.'s fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap, date back to the '70's, don't match any other bandwidth, not even the scanners in our cars."

"I need that bag," Rick told her quietly, and she nodded.

"I know you do," Maryanne told him. "I ain't stoppin' you."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, hello, hello! How's everyone doing? I know, it's been awhile, don't yell at me. Not gonna lie, I stopped watching Walking Dead for awhile but I'm back on it and I'm definitely ready to start uploading again for all of my Walking Dead fanfictions.**

**I tried to make this come-back chapter as long as I possibly could. It's the rest of episode 3, so episode 4 will start next chapter. And, I will try to get on a chapter-a-week schedule again, but I'm not making any promises. I'm going to try to upload every Sunday, so keep an eye out for that.**

**Anyway, I'm done rambling, here's what you actually came here for. I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter Five

_The forest flashed around Maryanne as she ran, laughing. She turned to her left, hiding behind a tree. Her chest heaved as she tried to quietly catch her breath. She knew he was right behind her, her dark hair wasn't hard to keep in sight. She looked to her left, trying to look for his own dark hair._

_ But he saw her do this, and struck. He grabbed her waist from the right side._

_ Maryanne cried out in surprise and tried to get away, but his hold was strong._

_ "You ain't goin' nowhere till I get my keys," Rick said, smiling while trying to intimidate her._

_ Maryanne smiled, too, but more deviously._

_ "I don't think so."_

_ Rick rolled his eyes and pulled his car keys out of her left back pocket, danging them in front of her face. She frowned and tried to grab them again, but he kissed her instead._

_ "That was all you had to do to get them back," Maryanne said, smiling._

_ Rick rolled his eyes, and kissed her again._

It was quiet after the group left the camp. Maryanne couldn't help the worry that was eating at her – even though it seemed like she was reassuring her brother and sister-in-law that everything was going to be alright.

It was getting on her nerves, so she went into her tent.

She felt someone watching her, and she looked up from her book to see her nephew.

"Hey, short stack," she greeted, patting the space next to her. "Take off your shoes, please."

Carl obliged, and sat down next to her.

"Your uncle's gonna be just fine," she told him, moving some hair from out of his face.

He nodded, and didn't bat her hand away, like he used to.

"I'm not worried. Are you?"

"A little."

"Don't be."

"Why's that?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"Think about it, aunt Mary. All he's been through – nothing's killed him yet."

She smiled. "You're right."

It didn't ease her worry.

A few minutes later, Shane came to find his son, offering to take him down to the quarry to catch frogs. Maryanne, after practically pushing him out of her tent, decided to follow a short time after.

She, instead of sitting by her brother and nephew, sat by Andrea, Amy, Carol, and Jacqui.

"I'm beginnin' to question the division of labor 'round here," she mumbled, helping them wash the clothes.

"Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doin' all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui added.

"The world ended, didn't you get the memo?"

"I guess that's an indication for sexism to begin again," Maryanne said, rolling her eyes.

"It's just the way it is," Carol said quietly. Maryanne didn't miss the quick look she shot at her bastard husband.

"Don't have to be."

Maryanne and Andrea scrubbed the stains, Amy washed on an old fashioned washing board that Maryanne wasn't sure how they stumbled across, and Carol washed the soap away. Jacqui hung everything to dry.

"I do miss my Maytag," Carol sighed, and Maryanne made a noise of agreement.

"I miss my Benz," Andrea added.

"I miss my coffee maker with that dual-drip filter and built in grinder, honey."

"I miss my restaurant. That was my pride and joy," Maryanne said. A dash of guilt ran through her – every day she wondered how her employees were doing. Whether they lived. Whether sweet, young Holly made it home to see her father and stepmother, or if Anthony was there for the birth of his niece.

"My computer," Amy said, interrupting Maryanne's depressing thoughts. "And texting."

"I miss my vibrator," Andrea said bluntly, and Maryanne burst out laughing, even louder when Carol gave a quiet "me, too".

"What's so funny?"

Maryanne rolled her eyes, her smile slowly fading.

"Just swappin' war stories, Ed," she said sarcastically.

He walked closer to them, and Maryanne could smell the stench of cigarettes. She could tell that he wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

"Problem, Ed?" she asked, turning around to look at him. Nothing but hate coursed through her – she could tell an abuser when she saw one.

"Nothin' that concerns you," he spat. He hated her just as much as she hated him.

Maryanne rolled her eyes, turning back around.

"You ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club."

Maryanne's hands began to shake.

She could hear her husband's voice in her head, telling her to bite her tongue.

And bite her tongue, she did.

Until she got sick of Ed standing behind them, smoking cigarette after cigarette and not doing a damn thing to be of use to anyone.

Finally, Maryanne got up, walking over to him.

"Ed, tell you what," she said pointedly. "You don't like how your damn laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here."

She threw his shirt at him, to which he caught and threw right back at her. The wet shirt hit her in the face.

"Ain't my job, missy."

"Maryanne, don't," she heard Amy say. But Maryanne didn't listen. No, she was sick of this.

"It ain't _my _job neither," she said lowly. "And it certainly ain't Carol's! Tell me, what is your job? Sitting on your fat ass smoking cigarettes all damn day while your wife tends to your every single need?"

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listenin' to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch, I'll tell you that. Come on, let's go!"

"No, she ain't goin' no where with you. She has no obligation to. That wedding band ain't mean nothin' once you lay a hand on her," Maryanne said, stepping closer to him. She was not afraid.

"I say it ain't none of your business. Come on now, you heard me," he retorted, blowing cigarette smoke in her face. She didn't flinch.

"No," she said, putting her hand on Carol's shoulder.

"Maryanne, please, it doesn't matter," Carol replied quietly, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, to hell it doesn't," Maryanne hissed.

"Hey," Ed said, and she turned. "Don't think I won't knock you on your ass."

"Do it," she challenged. "My brother will kill you in two seconds."

"Come on now, or you gonna regret it later," Ed told his wife, who looked down like a whipped puppy – essentially, what she was.

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed?" Jacqui asked, and Ed stared at her.

"We've seen them, don't act like we haven't," Andrea added.

"You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business."

"Oh, I think it is," Maryanne retorted.

"You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay?"

"Ed, I have eaten things more intimidating than you," Maryanne said lowly. "You do not scare me, sorry to disappoint."

"I am _done talkin'._ Come on."

Ed grabbed Carol's arm, and there was a moment of everyone talking over the others.

"You don't tell me what, I tell you what!" Ed yelled. Then, he backhanded Carol.

"Oh hell no!" Maryanne yelled, punching him in the face.

Yelling. Ed pushed Maryanne back, and she pushed him right back. Amy pulled Carol away, and Maryanne was distracted by a sharp sting on her cheek.

She made a noise of shock, and suddenly, Ed was pulled away. She looked over to see Shane dragging him away by his shirt. Shane threw him on the ground and began to beat the man.

They reassured Carol, who wouldn't look away, and it wasn't until Ed was bloody and bruised that Maryanne ran over and tried to pull her brother off the man.

"That's enough, it's over," she kept saying over and over again.

"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, my sister, anyone else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time – do you hear me? _Do you hear me_?"

"Yes," Ed said, barely audible.

"I'll beat you to death, Ed," Shane said.

Shane went to go punch him again, but Maryanne grabbed his wrists.

"Shane, enough," she hissed. "You've made your point."

Shane stood, and kicked Ed in the ribs before he let his sister lead him off. Maryanne shot an apologetic look to Carol before taking her brother back to the camp, into his tent.

"You took it too far," she said after cleaning the wounds on his hands. "But thank you."

"Mary... you knew that I didn't lie to you, right?"

Maryanne looked at her brother. She wasn't going to lie to him.

"I'm having a hard time believing that you didn't, Shane. But give me some time, okay?"

"Mary," Shane said, grabbing her shoulders. She didn't break eye contact with him.

"I _didn't _lie to you, okay? I-I wouldn't. You're my sister, I couldn't. I thought Rick was dead."

"Okay," Maryanne replied. She got up, Shane's wounds properly cleaned and dressed, and began to exit the tent.

"So that's it? Just 'okay'?"

Maryanne nodded. "Just okay, for now."

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**I hope you all had/are having a great day, and I'll talk to you next time. Thanks for reading, guys and gals.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	7. Chapter 7

**Why hello there. How's everyone doing? Hope you're well.**

**Before we start I wanted to answer I question I got in a review from sweetkitty. First of all, thank you for reading and reviewing. To answer your question, I really don't have a clear reason why I didn't make Carl Maryanne and Rick's son (I know, exactly what you want to hear an author say, right?). I guess I just felt like it'd be more interesting if he wasn't, especially later in the fic/series.**

**Also, thank you to everyone else who read and reviewed, I really appriciate it.**

**Anyway, here's the newest chapter, I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter Six

With Dale keeping watch on top of his R.V., Maryanne retired to her tent, even going to far as to zip it. It was a clear indication that she didn't want to be bothered.

She took a few deep breaths, fixed her ponytail, and finally took a look at her cheek.

"Oh, dammit," she mused, gently touching the blue and purple mark. This was going to be fun to explain to Rick...

She shook her head and drank some water.

After a few minutes, she heard some clapping and excited talk outside. Eyebrows furrowed, she opened her tent and stepped out.

Amy and Andrea had returned, proudly presenting two chains full of fish.

"Thank Dale," she heard Andrea say. "His canoe and gear."

"Aunt Mary, look! Look at all the fish!"

"I see that," Mary said with a laugh. "Where did you two learn to do that?"

"Our dad."

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Sure! Teach you all about nail knots and stuff. If that's okay?"

"You won't catch me arguing," Lori replied.

"Hey, Dale," Andrea said when she saw the old man walking towards them. "When's the last time you oiled those line reels – they are a disgrace."

"I, uh... I don't want to alarm anyone. But we may have a bit of a problem," he told them, gesturing upwards.

Maryanne looked up, and saw Jim.

"What the hell is he doin'?" she asked.

"Digging."

"Merle!"

"We're not alone here," Rick hissed. He wasn't about to die now. "Remember that."

"Screw that."

They looked around the room, which was free of walkers, and Rick's eyes followed the trail of blood until it reached a stove. On top of the stove, there was a brown leather belt – complete with copper colored blood – and four Sterno fuel cans still burning. They were also covered in blood.

Rick walked over and picked up a metal object with a handle. He sighed when he noticed it was covered in skin.

"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked.

"Skin. He cauterized his wound."

"Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood," Rick reminded him.

"Yeah? Didn't stop him from bustin' out of this death trap."

"He left the building?! Why would he do that?!"

"Why wouldn't he? He's out there alone as far as he knows. Doin' what he's got to do. Survivin'."

"You call that 'surviving'?" T-Dog asked. "Just wanderin' out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?"

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks!"

_Here we go again._

"You couldn't kill 'em. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."

"What about 1,000 dumb, dead bastards?" Rick retorted. "Different story?"

"Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want. I'm gonna go get 'em."

"Daryl-"

"Get your hands off me! You can't stop me!"

"I don't blame you. He's family – I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. He can't get far with that injury, we could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head."

"I could do that."

"Only if we get those guns first," T-Dog said after a few moments of silence. "I'm not strollin' the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"

The group went to go find Jim, and hopefully talk some sense into him. Maryanne watched as he stabbed the ground over and over again, then began to dig a hole. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Hey, Jim?" Shane said. Jim didn't answer.

"Jim, why don't you hold up, alright? Just a second, please?"

"What do you want?"

"I'm just a little concerned, man, that's all."

"Dale said you've been out here for hours," Maryanne added.

"So?"

"So why you diggin'? You headin' to China, Jim?"

"Doesn't matter, I'm not hurting anyone."

"No," Maryanne argued. "But you're hurting yourself. Come on, honey, you're gonna pass out if you keep doing this. It's 100 degrees today, you can't keep this up."

"Sure I can! Watch me."

"Jim, they're not gonna say it, so I will. You're scarin' people," Lori finally said. "You're scarin' my son. And Carol's daughter."

"They've got nothing to be scared of! I mean what the hell, people, I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone."

"We think that you need to take a break, okay?"

"No, Shane," Maryanne said, grabbing her brother's wrist. "He's right, okay? Just let him be."

"Why don't you go get yourself in the shade?" Shane asked, yanking away from his sister. "Some food maybe? I'll tell you what – maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and help you myself. Jim? Just... tell me what it's about, just go ahead and give me that shovel."

Exasperated, Jim jammed the shovel into the ground and looked at Shane.

"Or what?"

"There is no 'or what'. I'm askin' you – I'm comin' to you and I'm askin' you. I don't want to have to take it from you."

"Shane, come on, he's right. He ain't hurtin' no one out here," Maryanne said again.

"And if I don't? You're gonna beat my face in, like Ed Peletier, aren't you? You should listen to your sister, she's right."

Shane shook his head.

"Y'all seen his face, huh? What's left of it," Jim said loudly. "See, now, that's what happens when someone crosses you."

"Jim, to be fair, you really don't know the full story. You weren't there. Ed was out of control, he hit Carol and me," Maryanne retorted.

"And you, always jumping to defend everyone! He is not judge and jury. Your brother lied to you about your husband being alive, and you still can't admit when he's wrong!"

"Hey," Shane said, directing his attention from Maryanne. "I'm not here to argue with you, just give me the shovel, alright?"

"No, no, no," Jim replied.

"Jim-"

Jim pushed him away, and Shane ducked as Jim tried to hit him with the shovel.

"You got no right!" Jim yelled as Shane tackled him.

"Stop," Shane said. "Hey, hey, Jim, nobody's gonna hurt you. You hear me? Nobody is going to hurt you."

"That's a lie, that's the biggest lie there is," Jim said as Shane handcuffed him. "I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it 100 times, it didn't matter. They came out of nowhere. Dozens of them... just pulled them right out of my hands..."

Maryanne looked at the ground. Nothing but guilt flowed through her. When she looked up, his eyes were looking right at her.

"You know, the only reason I got away is because the dead where too busy eating my family."

Maryanne sighed, her eyes filling with tears for complete strangers. It was one of her weaknesses.

"I'm sorry, Jim."

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, you know I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, guys, and I hope you have a fantastic day. I'll see you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone, how are you? Hope you're well.**

**I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who followed and reviewed last chapter, it really means a lot to me. Also, thank you to EJM87 for your review, it really made my day a lot better.**

**Anyway, here's a new chapter in Mary's Song, I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter Seven

It was Maryanne and Dale who brought water to Jim. Shane had kept him in the handcuffs, and tied a single rope around his chest. This, among many other things, made Maryanne feel very guilty.

"Jim," she said gently, and he looked over at her. "Take some water?"

"All right," he agreed.

She nodded and filled the cup.

"Here you go," she said, holding it to his mouth while he drank.

"Pour some on my head?"

"Of course."

"How long are they gonna keep me like this?"

Maryanne sighed, and she dunked a rag in the water.

"I... don't know, Jim," she answered honestly. She rang out the rag and put it on the back of his neck. "Shane said somethin' about 'until he feels like you're not a danger to yourself or others'."

"I'm sorry if I scared your nephew and Carol's little girl."

"You had sunstroke," Maryanne replied, adjusting the rag. "Nobody's blaming you."

There was a few moments of silence, consisting of Maryanne again wetting the towel, ringing it out, and putting it on his neck.

"Why were you digging, Jim?" she finally asked.

"I had a reason. I don't remember. Something that I dreamt last night. You and your husband were in it, and you were worried about him. That's all I remember. Are you worried about him?"

"They're not back yet," was her only answer.

"Well, he's a police officer. He helps people. Probably just came across some folks needing help, that's all. He's tough as nails. I don't know him well, but, I could see it in him. There's nothing stopping him from getting back to you, I promise you that."

She smiled, and, after making him drink some more water, thanked him and left.

Later, Maryanne was joined by her nephew as she went to go check on Jim.

"Hey, Jim, how you feeling?"

"Better, more myself."

She smiled. "Good. I hope that you... understand the need for this. We just didn't want you to hurt yourself... and I'm sorry about my brother, I know how he can be. I just want to make sure there's no hard feelings."

"There's not," Jim replied. "I do understand."

"Come on, why don't you come join us for dinner? We're having fish."

"I'd like that very much," Jim said, looking at Carl.

Maryanne smiled, and she untied the rope, followed by unlocking the handcuffs.

They ran.

They had no choice.

They ran even though it was exhausting and they wanted to give up.

He had to get back to Mary.

The fish was roasted over the fire and passed around. There was more than plenty for everyone and there was an aura of happiness, mostly because they were eating something that wasn't out of a can.

"I've got to ask you, man. It's been driving me crazy."

"What?"

"That watch."

"What's wrong with my watch?"

"I see you, every day, same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

"I've wondered this myself," Jacqui added.

"I'm missing the point."

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end... at least hit a speed bump for a good, long while."

"But there's you every day, winding that stupid watch."

"Time – it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least? Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here."

"Nah, that's way too much work," Maryanne replied.

"I like, uh... I like what a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said; 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me. I give it to you not to remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then... and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it'."

There was a few moments of silence before Amy spoke.

"You are so weird."

The group laughed.

"Not me, it's Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing," Dale defended, and Maryanne rolled her eyes.

There was silence before Amy stood, and her sister looked up.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to pee," Amy said quietly. "Jeez, you try to be discreet around here."

Again, the group laughed, and Andrea rolled her eyes.

After a few moments, the sound of the R.V. door opening was heard, followed by Amy saying they were out of toilet paper. Suddenly, she screamed, and Maryanne immediately looked up.

There was a walker attached to her arm.

Maryanne stood, the plate falling from her lap. The group began to scatter, screams coming from most of them.

"Lori, get him down!"

Shots. Shot, after shot, after shot. Maryanne reached for her knife and began to defend herself, as much as she hated it.

"Follow me!" she heard her brother shout. Suddenly distracted, she didn't notice the walker coming towards her, and she screamed and fell as it put all of its body weight against her.

Teeth snapping so close to her face. The smell of death and rotting skin choked her. Suddenly, she heard a gunshot, and the walker fell on top of her. She didn't notice the blood spatter her face.

The body was pushed off, and her brother helped her stand. He pushed her behind him.

"Come all, y'all! Work your way up here! Get to the R.V.!"

There was so much screaming. So many people yelling.

Then, there were more shots. Maryanne looked over at Shane, who wasn't shooting.

She could've smiled.

They were back.

As the last of the walkers were taken out, Rick began to call for Mary.

"I'm here!" she yelled, running towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his neck. He noticed she was crying.

"I don't know what happened," she said quietly as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, one coming into her hair. "One minute, we were just eating and the next..."

"Oh, no, no!" he heard, and looked up. He felt Mary do the same. "Amy! Amy!"

With a small sound, Mary's face was in his neck again.

Nothing but guilt ran through his veins.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you next week. Thanks for reading!**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, hello again.**

**I apologize for this chapter being late – I was very busy tonight. Trying to stay on top of the chapter-a-week schedule, I think it's going pretty well.**

**Thank you, again, to everyone who read and reviewed and all that good stuff last chapter. Really means a lot to me. Shout out, again, to EMJ87 for your kind words. I actually took one of your suggestions into mind for this chapter so thank you for that.**

**Anyway, onto the latest chapter. I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter Eight

The next day came, and the group solemnly gathered their dead and the undead. The undead, they burned. Their dead, they buried.

"Someone's gotta go talk to her," Lori said to Maryanne, who looked over at Andrea. Andrea was still sitting by Amy's body. Any minute now, and she would turn.

"I'll do it," Maryanne volunteered, and walked over to her before anyone could say anything else.

"Andrea," she started gently, sitting next to her. "I'm so sorry, honey. She's gone... you gotta let us take care of her."

Andrea didn't respond. She didn't look at her.

"We all cared about her. And I'll promise we'll be as gentle as we can," Maryanne added.

Maryanne sighed, and when Andrea still didn't say anything, she got up and walked away. She sat back down next to Lori and Carol, and soon Rick returned.

"She still won't move?" Rick asked, and Maryanne shook her head.

"She won't even talk to us," she answered. "She's been there all night."

"We can't just leave Amy like that. We have to deal with it, like all the others."

"I'll go tell her how it is."

Rick walked over to her.

"Andrea-"

Andrea pulled her gun out of her bag, and the light sound of the gun cocking filled the air. Maryanne stood out of instinct.

"I know how the safety works," she growled, and Rick backed off.

"We ain't got a choice," Maryanne said quietly. "We leave it alone, for now. Let her handle it. If it gets to a point where we feel like she can't, then we step in."

"You serious? You just gonna let that girl hamstring us?" Daryl replied. "That girl is a ticking time bomb!"

"And what do you suggest?" Maryanne asked, crossing her arms.

"Take the shot," he said, as if it was so obvious. "Clean, in the brain, from here. Hell, I could hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"_No. _We leave her alone. Andrea will handle it, and if she can't, we will," Maryanne said, her tone pointed and ending the conversation.

She didn't pay attention to the conversations being thrown around the camp, until she heard that someone got bit. Immediately, she stood stiffly, looking around. All eyes were on Jim, and her heart sank.

"I'm okay, I'm okay."

"Show it to us," Daryl demanded.

Again, he said the command, and Jim turned around, grabbing his shovel.

"Whoa, wait, hold on, hold on!" Maryanne yelled, but her voice was lost with many others.

T-Dog grabbed him from behind, and Daryl lifted his shirt. Maryanne sighed, looking at the ground instead of the bright red mark, dented by teeth.

"I'm okay," Jim kept mumbling, but everyone knew he wasn't. She was sure even Jim knew he wasn't okay.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head, and the dead girl's and be done with it."

"Is that what you'd want, if it were you?"

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

"Well, that's nice, but that's not your decision to make."

"I hate to say it – I thought I never would – but maybe Daryl's right."

"Jim ain't a monster, Dale," Maryanne hissed. "Or some rabid dog."

"I'm not suggesting-"

"He's sick, he's a sick man," Rick added. "We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Shane said.

"And what if we can get him help, hm?" Maryanne demanded, glaring at her brother. She couldn't believe that he was going along with this.

"I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure," she finished.

"Yeah, I heard that, too," Shane argued. "I heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Rick asked before Maryanne could reply.

"Man, that is a stretch right there."

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, food, protection-"

"Okay, Rick, you want all those things, I do, too, all right? Now all those things would be at the army base. Fort Benning."

"That's 100 miles south in the opposite direction," Lori argued.

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me, if that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed, we'd be safe there."

"And what if it isn't, huh?" Maryanne demanded. "What if it's overrun, like everything else? The military was on the front lines of this thing, and we saw they got overrun. It's a safe bet Fort Benning has fallen."

"The C.D.C. is our best option and Jim's only chance."

"Y'all get some Asprin. Do what you need to do. Someone's gotta have the balls to take care of this problem!" Daryl yelled, raising the pickaxe.

"Hey!" Rick yelled, pointing his gun to Daryl's head. "We don't kill the living."

"That's funny, comin' from a man who just put a gun to my head," Daryl retorted.

"Come on," Maryanne said, stepping forward and taking Jim's hand.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, letting her help him up and lead him to the R.V.

"Somewhere safe," she answered.

She took him to the R.V., to the room in the back. She helped him lay down in the bed.

"Are you cold?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Alright," she said. She gestured to his bandana. "May I?"

He nodded, and she removed the bandana. She wiped away what dirt and sweat she could, then set the rag down. She, then, dressed his wound as best she could.

"You're a very kind woman, Maryanne," he said while she did, and she smiled. "Thank you, for all you've done."

"You're welcome, Jim," Maryanne said, and, with wound dressed, she got up and left the R.V.

Rick and Shane were out in the field, finishing the holes that Jim had started yesterday.

"Say it," Rick stated finally, stabbing his shovel into the ground.

"Okay," Shane replied. "I'm thinkin' maybe if you would've stayed here, if you would've looked after your own – instead you went off, you took half of our manpower with you. I'm thinkin' maybe our losses wouldn't have been as bad. I'm thinkin' we need to put Jim down before he turns, instead of hunting down a cure that doesn't exist."

"If we hadn't brought those guns back when we did, I think our losses would've been a lot worse," Rick argued, choosing to ignore his last sentence. "Maybe the entire camp."

Shane shook his head, leaving the conversation there as a truck containing the bodies to bury approached.

"I still think it's a mistake, not burnin' these bodies," Daryl stated. "It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?"

"At first."

"Then Chinaman gets all emotional? Says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here. What the rules are."

"There are no rules," Rick replied.

"Well, that's a problem," Lori retorted. "We haven't had a minute to hold onto our old selves we need time to mourn, and bury our dead. It's what people do."

Rick looked at Mary, who was looking at him already. She shook her head, and, with one glare at her brother, she stood next to Lori until Rick joined her.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thank you all so much for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Nine

They loaded the dead, covered bodies into sheets, but they saved Amy's. Andrea, taking the hint, dragged Amy's body to the final empty grave, insisting that she could handle it when Dale tried to help her.

Maryanne sighed, and she felt a small hand slip into hers. She looked down, and Carl looked up at her. She smiled a small smile at the boy, her arm slipping around his shoulders.

"Go find your mom, okay?" she said as the group began to walk back to the quarry.

"I don't want to," he said quietly, and Maryanne sighed.

"Just go, okay? I'll find you soon."

Carl nodded sadly and went to go find Lori, who walked back with her husband.

"Burying other people is bad enough, but the thought of one of us-"

"Shh," Maryanne said, turning to him. "I know."

"Your brother blames me for not bein' here."

"That's not surprising," Maryanne muttered.

"Do you?" he asked, his hands taking her own. Maryanne's look softened.

"Rick-"

"We have guns, we're stronger now."

"Rick," Maryanne said, her hands coming up to touch his face. "I understand that. I know you wanted to go back for Merle and the guns. But you also have to remember that we have fewer people now. That could be a good or bad thing. And I know you want me to be on your side and I am. But all I'm saying is... you're not entirely right but neither is my brother."

Rick sighed. "What about the C.D.C.?"

"It's our best shot. And Jim's best chance. You're right there, and I will stand by you with that. But-"

"But what?" Rick demanded, removing her hands angrily.

"Rick, listen to me," she said firmly, and he sighed. "You have to look at their faces. Hell – look at mine. We're all terrified, honey. We're heading into the city that's overrun with those... things and I don't know how many of us are going to make it out of there. There's so much that I don't know I just-"

She cut herself off when her voice cracked, and she looked at the ground. A hand came up under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"You what?" he asked gently.

"Tell me something with certainty," she said just as gently, and he stared at her.

"I love you," he said firmly. "That's all I got."

Maryanne smiled, and she kissed his cheek.

"I love you, too," she whispered into his neck, and the two embraced.

Soon, they went to the R.V., where they found Jim in the back room.

"His fever's worse," Carol informed them.

"You need anything?" Mary asked Jim.

"Uh... water. I could use more water."

"I'll go get some. Carol, can you come help me, please?"

The two women left, and Rick took Carol's place.

"You save a grave for me?" Jim asked, and Rick looked around awkwardly.

"Nobody wants that."

"It's not about what you want. That, uh, that sound you hear? That's God laughing while you make plans."

"What I want, Jim, if – if God allows, is to get you some help."

Jim began to cough, and Rick handed him the white pot, which Jim took and began to spit blood into it.

When he was done, he groaned and rested his head against the R.V.

"Watch the mangroves," he said. "Their roots will gouge the whole boat. You know that, right? Amy is there... swimming... you'll watch the boat, right? You said you would."

Rick nodded, a sadness filling him even more. "I'll watch the boat. Don't worry."

"Okay."

Maryanne was sitting on the stairs of the R.V. when her brother knelt in front of her.

"I need you to talk some sense into Rick."

Maryanne rolled her eyes, and got up, trying to walk away.

"Look, Mary, the C.D.C thing, keepin' Jim alive, it's a mistake."

When Maryanne didn't say anything, Shane sighed.

"So you're backin' him?"

"You should've seen that comin'," Maryanne argued, crossing her arms. "He's my husband."

"And you can play dutiful wife some other time. But we're puttin' people's lives at risk!"

"The last time I checked, Shane, people had free will. If they think it's a mistake, they don't have to follow. You don't have to follow us, Shane, we'll be just fine without you. And you need to start makin' up your own damn mind without bringin' my damn marriage into it."

"I guess I'll just add that to the list of habits I need to break, whether I like it or not."

"What habits?" Rick asked, stepping out of the R.V.

"Him bitchin' all the time," Maryanne replied, and Shane glared at her.

"Just talkin' about my need for a plan," he said. "So, what is it, we leavin' or not? Maybe we could just stay here, we could just hang some more tin cans."

"We can't stay here, you know that," Maryanne hissed with narrowed eyes. "We need to trust your gut, Rick."

"Let's go do our sweep," Shane suggested, still glaring at Maryanne. Rick nodded, and they left with Dale.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thank you for reading, and I'll talk to you next time. Have a great day!**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone. I do apologize for not uploading yesterday or earlier, it was my birthday yesterday so I figured I'd give myself a break.**

**Anyway, here's a new chapter for Mary's song, I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Ten

Andrea slept. Lori was sharpening sticks. Maryanne wasn't sure what everyone else was doing.

"I've been thinkin' about Rick's plan to go to the C.D.C."

"And?" Maryanne asked, skeptical about the words that were about to leave his mouth.

"I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So... those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"

Maryanne nodded, and went to her tent.

The next morning, the camp finished packing and began moving their things to the cars. After that was done, the group gathered.

"All right, listen up. Those of you with C.B.'s, we're gonna be on channel 40. but let's keep the chatter down, okay? If you've got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal, anything like that, you're gonna hit your horn one time, okay? That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

"We're uh... we're not going," Morales told them, and Maryanne's heart sunk.

"We have family in Birmingham," his wife added. "We want to be with our people."

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back."

"We'll take that chance. I got to do what's best for my family."

"We understand that," Maryanne said with a nod of her head. She stepped forward and embraced Morales, followed by his wife.

"Thank you for everything you've done."

"Thank you, for everything," his wife replied with tears in her eyes.

As her husband and brother talked about what weapons to give the family, Maryanne embraced their children, kissing their foreheads as well.

Rick handed a .357 to Morales, and Lori embraced Morales' wife.

"Channel 40, if you change your minds," Rick told Morales, who nodded.

Final goodbyes were said, and their family got in their car.

"What makes you think our odds are any better?" Shane asked.

"Oh, shut up," Maryanne hissed.

Rick got into the car with Carol and her daughter. Maryanne followed.

"Come on, Carl."

"I want to ride with Aunt Mary!"

"Carl," Maryanne said gently, turning to look at him. "Go with your mother."

"No, no it's fine," Lori said, though Maryanne could tell she was hurt. "I'll just... go with Shane."

Maryanne sighed, leaning back in her seat.

Maryanne didn't know how long they were driving before she heard a single honk. The cars pulled over.

The R.V. was smoking, and Dale had the grate taken off.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from your cube van."

"Can you Jerry-rig it?"

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape."

Maryanne sighed, running a hand over her face.

"I see somethin' up ahead," Shane said, looking through his binoculars. "A gas station, if we're lucky."

"Y'all," Jacqui said, urgency coloring her voice. "Jim – it's bad. I don't think he can take anymore."

She went back in the R.V.

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back?"

"I'll come along, too, I'll back you up."

"Keep your eyes open now, we'll be right back."

Rick sighed, looked and Maryanne, and went into the R.V. Maryanne followed.

"We'll be back on the road soon," she heard Rick say.

"Oh, no. Christ. My bones – my bones are like glass. Every little bump... God. This ride's killing me. Leave me here."

"No," Maryanne said quietly, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't.

"I'm done," Jim said. "Just leave me. I want to be with my family."

"Th-They're all dead, Jim," Maryanne said gently, sitting down next to his bed. "I don't think you know what you're askin', honey. The fever... you've been delirious more often than not."

"I know, don't you think I know?" Jim retorted, looking at her. It finally hit her how pale he was.

"I'm clear now. In five minutes, I may not be. I know what I'm asking, Maryanne. I want this. Leave me here. Now, that's on me. Okay? My decision – not your failure."

Maryanne nodded, wiping away a tear that escaped.

"He says its what he wants," Maryanne said to the rest of the group, crossing her arms.

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked.

"Seems to be."

"I would say yes," Rick added.

"Back in the camp... when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down... you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer."

"We just... leave him here? We take off?" Maryanne asked, her voice breaking. "I don't... I don't know if I could live with that."

"It's not your call," Lori reminded her. "Either of you."

Rick nodded, and Shane helped him get Jim out of the R.V.

"Hey, another damn tree," Jim said, and Maryanne smiled.

"Hey, Jim?" her brother started. "I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this."

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice."

"Okay. All right."

Shane stepped away, and Jacqui walked forward.

"Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight."

She kissed his cheek, and walked away. Rick next.

"Jim – do you want this?" he asked, kneeling down and holding a gun to him.

"No. You'll need it. I'm okay."

"Okay," Rick replied. He stood and walked away.

Maryanne slowly stepped forward, kneeling beside him.

"I'm so sorry," she said, the tears in her eyes overflowing.

"Don't be."

Maryanne couldn't say anymore. The tears had a hold of her vocal cords, and she couldn't break the hold.

So, instead, she kissed his burning cheek, and walked away. She got back into the car with Rick, and watched Jim slowly disappear as they drove away.

She tried to control her tears, for Carl and Sophia.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Eleven

They reached the city to find roadblocks in place. Instead of driving through them and creating more noise, they got out of the car and began to walk, shirts over their noses as the stench of the dead hit them. Flies were the only sound they heard.

"All right everybody, keep moving, go," Shane hissed. "Stay quiet, let's go."

Lori held onto her son's hand, and Carol held her daughter close. Maryanne walked behind Rick, a gun in her right hand.

"All right, stay together, keep moving. Come on!"

More chatter from the group, followed by a shush from Shane.

"Keep it together, come on!"

Maryanne's heart was pounding as they reached the front door to the C.D.C., which looked closed off. Her heart sank with dread – they couldn't have been wrong about this.

Rick tried pushing a button. Nothing happened.

Shane tried opening the door. Nothing happened.

The button again. Nothing.

Shane pounded on the door, the sound echoing. Maryanne's heart began to beat even faster – if possible. Her breathing was shallow.

"There's nobody here."

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick demanded.

"Walkers!" Daryl said. "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call!" Maryanne retorted.

"He made the wrong damn call!"

"You shut up!" Shane bellowed. "You hear me? Shut up. Shut up! Rick – this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Do you hear me?" Shane continued. "No blame."

"She's right – we can't be here this close to the city after dark," Lori retorted, her grip tight on her son.

"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option."

"On what?" Maryanne demanded. "No food, no fuel, that's 100 miles."

"125, I checked the map," Glenn replied.

"Forget Fort Benning, we need answers tonight, now."

"Well, think of something!" Maryanne retorted, eyes glaring at her friend.

"Let's go, let's get out of here."

"Let's go, please."

"All right, everybody back to the cars!" Shane said, trying to pull Maryanne away. She yanked out of his arms.

"I ain't leavin' without him," she said, eyes on Rick.

"Now ain't the time to be stubborn, Mary."

"Screw you."

"The camera – it moved!"

"You imagined it," Dale said.

"It moved."

"Rick, it is dead, man. It is an automated device, it's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on."

"It moved!"

"Rick, listen to me, look around this place! It's dead, okay? It's dead, you need to let it go, Rick!"

Rick yanked away and began to pound on the doors.

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Carol yelled.

"I know you're in there! I know you can hear me! Please – we're desperate! Please help us, we have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left!"

"Rick, there's nobody here," Lori said, panicked, trying to pull him away.

"We have nowhere else to go!" Maryanne argued. She pounded on the doors. "Please! If you don't let us in, you're killing us!"

Maryanne felt arms wrap around her waist, lifting her from the ground. She tried to struggle, but Shane had immobilized her arms.

"Please!" Rick yelled as Lori dragged him away. His eyes were torn between the camera and Maryanne.

"You're killing us! You're killing us!" Maryanne screamed as her brother dragged her away.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and a light that was too bright for the days that they'd endured blinded them.

They entered in the building, shutting the doors behind them.

"Hello? Hello?"

There was the sound of a gun cocking, and Rick raised his.

"Anyone infected?" another voice demanded.

"One of our group was. He didn't make it."

"Who are you, what do you want?"

"A chance."

"That's asking an awful lot these days."

"We know."

"You all submit to a blood test," he said. "That's the price of admission."

"We can do that."

"You got stuff to bring in, do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

They'd already gotten their things, so they shut the main doors.

"Vi, seal the main entrance, kill the power up here," the man said.

"Rick Grimes," Rick said, shaking the man's hand.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner," he replied.

They all piled in the elevator. Though it was quite large, they were still quite smashed together.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you all look harmless enough. Except you," Jenner answered, looking at Carol. "I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl smiled, and so did Maryanne. She leaned her head on Rick. She was exhausted.

They got out of the elevator, and Jenner walked them through a large hallway.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked.

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"A little."

"Try not to think about it. Vi – bring up the lights in the big room."

The lights turned on, revealing a room filled with computers.

"Welcome to Zone 5."

"Where is everybody?" Maryanne asked. "Other doctors, staff?"

"I'm it," Jenner answered. "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asked. "Vi?"

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them... welcome."

"Hello, guests," a monotone voice replied. "Welcome."

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

They filed into a room to take the blood test, Maryanne sitting down against the wall next to Rick.

"What's the point?" Andrea asked. "If we were infected we'd all be running a fever."

"I've already broken every rule in the book by letting you in here, let me just at least be thorough. All done."

Andrea stood, wobbling a little on her feet.

"Are you okay?"

"She hasn't eaten in days," Maryanne said. "None of us have."

And so, Jenner took them to another room, and they all ate. There was a lightened mood here, where they laughed and drank wine.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France," Dale, who poured Lori a glass, said.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he'll have some then."

"What's it gonna hurt, Lori?" Maryanne asked, a smile on her face. "Come on, let the boy live, dammit."

"Yeah, come on," Shane added

Lori rolled her eyes and agreed, and so Dale poured Carl a small amount and handed it to him.

"Here you are, young lad."

The room waited in silence while Carl drank.

"Eww!" he said, a sour look on his face. Everyone laughed, while Lori poured the wine into hers.

"That tastes nasty!"

"Yeah, stick to soda pop there, bud," Shane said, ruffling Carl's hair.

"Not you, Glenn," Daryl said, and Glenn looked up.

"What?"

"Keep drinkin', little man, I want to see how red your face can get."

Maryanne rolled her eyes, though she could keep the smile off her face. It was then she noticed Jenner sitting away from them, not smiling or laughing. Maryanne wasn't sure he had all night. She looked at Rick, who nodded and tapped his glass with a fork. The room silenced, and Rick stood.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly," he said.

"He is more than just our host," T-Dog replied.

"Hear, hear!"

"Here's to you, Doc."

"Thank you, Doctor," Maryanne said, and he nodded, raising his glass.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane asked, and Maryanne sighed. She was wondering when Shane was going to decide to ruin the mood.

"All the, uh... the other doctors that were supposed to be figurin' out what happened. Where are they?"

"Come on, Shane," Maryanne said. "We're celebratin'. Any other time but now would be good."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move – one you were so hellbent on makin'. We were supposed to find all the answers. Instead we found him."

"And what's wrong with him, exactly?" Maryanne demanded, quirking a brow.

"He's one man. Why?"

"Well, when things got bad a lot of people just... left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?"

"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time..."

"You didn't leave," Andrea pointed out. It was the first words she'd spoken in days. "Why?"

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good."

"That's admirable," Maryanne said. "I apologize for my brother."

"You are such a buzzkill," Glenn said, looking at Shane.

No one laughed. Maryanne didn't miss Shane glaring at her.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! How are you?**

**I do apologize for the late upload, it completely slipped my mind until tonight. Whoops. Bad FanFiction author.**

**Anyway, here's the newest chapter, I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter Twelve

After dinner, with everyone thoroughly exhausted, Jenner took them to where they would be resting.

"Most of the facility is powered down," he informed them. "Including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable – but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just... don't plug in the video games, okay?"

The children nodded, and Maryanne smiled tiredly.

"Or anything that drains power. Same applies if you shower – go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Glenn asked excitedly.

"That's what the man said!" T-Dog replied. They laughed, and Maryanne looked at her husband. She noticed his eyes were lit up, a smile on his face, and she smiled, too.

It was amazing how something as simple as hot water could be cherished.

Maryanne showered second to last – Dale insisting that she go before him. Maryanne turned the knob as warm as it would go, the water searing her skin. She didn't care. She'd get used to it.

She smiled, steam rising up. She washed her hair, scrubbed her skin clean, and that's when Rick joined her.

"Hey," she said as his lips rested on her neck.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"How's the blood?"

"No surprises."

Rick nodded, and walked further into the room.

"I came to thank you," he said.

"You did," Jenner replied.

Rick went to sit, but instead fell. He blamed the alcohol swimming through his veins.

"You alright?"

He nodded.

"You don't know what it's like," he started, his voice slurring. "You don't know what it's like out there. You may think you do, but you don't. We'd have died out there... it was only a matter of time. There's too many of those things. My wife... I never told her what I really thought. I never even hinted, I just... kept it in. Kept us moving, you know? Just kept it in."

"It'll all be okay. It'll be okay."

After she showered and dressed, Maryanne went into the rec room Jenner was telling them about. There, she found Carol with the kids – the children playing and Carol reading.

"Any good books?" she asked.

"Mm-hm, enough to keep us busy for years," Carol retorted.

"I'm glad. How are you doing?"

"Good... I'm good."

Maryanne smiled at the woman, turning and browsing the shelves of books as Carol declared it was bedtime.

"Goodnight, Carl," Maryanne said, kissing the top of his head. "Night, Sophia."

"Tonight we might actually get some sleep," Carol mused, looking at her daughter. "It's a miracle, isn't it?"

Maryanne smiled widely as they left, enjoying the silence. As she picked up a book and began to read the summary, the door slammed. Maryanne jumped, and looked over to see Shane.

He looked drunk off his ass.

Maryanne sighed, setting the book back on the shelf.

"You scared the hell out of me," she growled. She tried to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pushed her back. Maryanne stumbled, feeling surprised. Shane hadn't pushed her in years.

"I'm gonna tell you a few things, and you're gonna listen," he started. Maryanne rolled her eyes. She hated him when he got drunk – because he got demanding.

"Now ain't the time."

"Come on, when is it ever the time?"

"You know, you are so desperate to get me to say 'oh Shane, I forgive you for lyin' to my face', that ain't gonna happen!"

"How can you treat me like this?!"

"Are you serious?! You told me Rick – the love of my life – was dead! You _knew _what that would do to me, Shane!"

"I didn't lie to you, alright? I didn't!"

"Oh, yeah right," she said, stalking around him and going for the door. He was quicker, and shut it.

"Do you know what it was like there?" he demanded. "Stop! Things were fallin' apart – they were slaughtering people in the hallways, it was a massacre. There were walkers everywhere!"

"And so you left him there, knowing there was a damn massacre and there were walkers everywhere? You think that makes it okay?!"

"Everybody else ran, Maryanne! There were no doctors there – it was just me! He was hooked up to machines, and I didn't know what to do! I even took my ear and I put it on his chest, and I listened for a heartbeat, and I didn't hear one!"

"Am I just supposed to believe you?!" Maryanne demanded.

"And I-I don't know why, but there was gunfire, and there was no way he could've survived that! No way!"

"Well, he did! It gives you no right to tell me he's dead when you don't _know _if he's dead yourself! I don't care if it's safe to assume!"

"Yeah, well I had y'all to think about, didn't I?! I had you and Lori -"

"I can take care of myself, Shane!"

"I had to get you safe to Atlanta, that's what I had to do!"

Maryanne tried to push him away, to get away from the argument that was bringing tears to her eyes, but he pushed her again. Some tears fell.

"If you thought for one second that he was still alive, would you have come?!"

"No! I would've waited by his bedside for him to wake up so we could go to Atlanta together! That's what I would've wanted, Shane!"

"I saved your damn life, Maryanne! If I could've traded places with him, I would have!"

"Stop lyin' to me!" she demanded, this time, pushing him.

"I ain't lyin' to you! I would trade places with him now because you love him and you hate me!"

"I don't hate you, Shane!" she yelled. "I hate who you have become! You think Lori likes you like this – do you think your son wants to hear you say you want to put a bullet in a man's head because he got bit?! Who do you think your son is going to become if he hears you talk like that?!"

"Shut up!" Shane bellowed, and again, he pushed her.

This time, she fell. Shocked, wide eyed, she looked at him. He only glared down at her, turned, and slammed the door shut behind him.

Slowly, in the silence, Maryanne sat up, and hid her face in her hands as she sobbed.

Eventually, she managed to stand and go to her room. And shortly after that, the door opened, and the mattress dipped as Rick settled in beside her.

She didn't look over at him. She hoped he would just fall asleep.

But of course, he didn't. She felt his hand on her arm, then shoulder as he persuaded her to roll over and look at him.

His face went from content to concerned as he noticed she was crying, and she sighed.

"We don't have to be afraid anymore. We're safe here, alright?" he assured her before she could explain what was wrong.

"No, i-it's not that. Shane and I just... got in a fight and it got ugly."

"What about?"

"Him lyin' to me about you being dead. I don't know, he just cornered me and tried to get me to listen to him and... he pushed me. He hasn't pushed me since he was 12."

Rick sighed. "I'll talk to him-"

"No, don't. Please don't. Just... forget I mentioned it."

"How can I just forget you mentioned something like that?"

"I don't know," Maryanne replied, burying her face in his chest. "It's not going to change anything if you talk to him so just... don't."

Rick sighed, but she felt him nod and kiss the top of her head.

No other words were spoken, and they fell asleep.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning. Maryanne dressed and went down to breakfast, where most of the group was already sitting. Rick joined her a few minutes later.

"Are you hung over?" Carl asked his uncle with a smile on his face. "Mom said you'd be."

"Mom is right," Rick grumbled, sitting down next to Maryanne. She smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori retorted.

"Eggs," T-Dog announced. "Powdered – but I do 'em good. I bet you can't tell, but protein helps the hangover."

He piled some onto Glenn's plate.

"Where'd all these come from?" Rick asked, holding up some Asprin.

"Jenner," Lori replied.  
>"Here," Maryanne said, taking the bottle and opening it.<p>

"He thought we could use it. Some of us, at least," Lori added, watching as Maryanne popped open the bottle.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever let me drink again," Glenn moaned, and Maryanne laughed.

"You got it, honey," she said.

"Hey."

Maryanne turned to see her brother entering the room, and she sighed. She turned back around. He didn't even look at her.

"Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked. Maryanne swore she heard cold undertones in his voice.

"Worse," there were even colder undertones from Shane. Maryanne's heart felt like it was going to burst. She didn't want them to come to blows – not here.

"Morning," Jenner said, breaking the tension. Maryanne silently thanked him.

"Morning, Doc."

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing -"

"But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea added.

And so, they were taken to the computer room, where Jenner demanded a "playback of TS-19".

"Playback of TS-19," Vi confirmed.

The computer loaded for a few moments before showing a scan of a human head.

"Few people got to see this," Jenner said as Rick stood by Maryanne. "Very few."

"Is that a brain?"

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters, in the end. Take us in for the E.I.V.."

"Enhanced internal view."

The image zoomed in, where it showed only the brain. Bright lights and colors flashed through, and Maryanne stared at it, transfixed.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a persons life. Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring – in all those ripples of light... is you. The thing that makes you... unique and human."

"You don't make sense, ever?" the question came from Daryl.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. Those determine what a person says and thinks from the moment of birth... to the moment of death."

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?"

"Rick," Maryanne scolded.

"Yes. Or rather, the playback of a vigil."

"This person died? Who?"

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bit, infected, and volunteered to have us... record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning forward to first event."

The camera zoomed out, showing the entirety of the head. Maryanne's eyebrows furrowed as black began to invade the brain – coming from the spine – marching through and extinguishing lights.

"What is that?" Glenn asked.

"It... invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, and then the major organs. Then... death. Everything you ever were or ever will be... gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?"

"Yes."

"She lost somebody two days ago... her sister," Maryanne explained when Andrea looked away with tears in her eyes.

"I lost somebody, too, I know how devastating it is," Jenner said, and Andrea nodded. "Scan to the second event."

"Scanning to second event."

"The resurrection times vary widely, we have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient it was 2 hours, 1 minute, 7 seconds..."

Red began to pump through the brain.

"It... restarts the brain?" Maryanne asked.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive."

"You tell me."

"It's nothin' like before. Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the human part, that doesn't come back. The _you _part. Just a... shell, driven by mindless instinct."

Suddenly, a bright blue line cut through the head, cutting all lights from the brain, good or bad.

"God, what was that?" Carol asked.

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and work stations."

"Powering down main screen and work stations."

"You have no idea what this is, do you?" Andrea demanded, her arms crossed.

"It... could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God?" Maryanne muttered.

"There's that."

"Somebody must know something, somebody, somewhere!"

"There are others, right?" Maryanne asked. "Other facilities?"

"There may be some. People like me."

"But you don't know – how can you not know?" Rick demanded.

"Everything went down. Communications, directives – all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here? There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing. That's what you're really saying, right?"

Jenner said nothing.

"Jesus," Jacqui said.

"I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk, again," Daryl said.

"Doctor, I know that this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question but... that clock – it's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"The... basement generators, they run out of fuel."

Maryanne's heart stopped. She didn't like where this was going.

"And then?" she heard Rick ask.

Jenner didn't answer, he chose to walk away.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked loudly.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

Rick and Maryanne exchanged a wide-eyed look.

"That doesn't sound good..." she muttered.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fourteen

As Rick, T-Dog, Shane, and Glenn went to the basement, Maryanne noticed the air conditioner stopped, followed by the lights turning off. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked at Lori, who was waving her hand underneath the vent.

"Mom? Everything okay?" her son asked.

"Yeah, I just... the air conditioner turned off."

"And the lights," Maryanne noted.

The group began to leave their rooms, all of them shooting questions at Jenner as he walked down the hall.

"Energy use is being prioritized," he replied.

"Air isn't a priority?" Dale asked.

"And lights?" Maryanne added.

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down."

Maryanne and Lori exchanged a look, both of their eyes wide.

"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean? Hey, man, I'm talkin' to you!" Daryl demanded. "What do you mean it's 'shuttin' itself down'? How can a buildin' do anythin'?"

"You'd be surprised."

It was then that Maryanne noticed the rest of the group returning.

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick demanded as they descended the stairs.

"The system's shutting down all nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule."

Maryanne's heart was racing. She was sure beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

"It was the French," Jenner said, breaking the prolonged silence.

"What?" Andrea asked.

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Maryanne asked, ignoring her tight throat.

"Same thing that's happening here. No power grid... ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel – I mean, how stupid is that?"  
>"Let me tell you -"<p>

"To hell with this, Shane!" Rick started, grabbing her brother's arm. "I don't even care! Maryanne, grab our things. Everybody, grab your stuff, we're getting out of here, now!"

Maryanne nodded, and she began towards the door, when a loud alarm made her jump back with a surprised sound.

"30 minutes to decontamination," the monotone voice informed them. Maryanne didn't think her heart could go any faster. She felt dizzy.

"Doc, what's goin' on here?!"

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick, go get your stuff!"

Once again, towards the doors, but they closed before she could reach them.

"No!" she screamed, pounding on the door. Tears were falling now.

"Did he just lock us in?" she heard Glenn ask. "He just locked us in!"

"You son of a bitch!"

"Shane!"

"You locked us in here!"

She backed away from the door, back towards the group. She felt someone grab her arm, and she looked over to see Lori.

"Open that door, now," Rick demanded.

"No point, everything top side is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well open the damn things!"

"That's not something I control, the computers do. I told you – once those front doors closed, it wouldn't open again, you heard me say that."

They did hear him say that.

"It's better this way."

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?"

Jenner ignored them, beginning to type on his computer.

"What happens in 28 minutes?!" Rick yelled.

"Do you _know _what this place _is_?!" Jenner demanded. "We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out – ever!"

Jenner sat back down in his chair, and lowered his voice.

"In the event of a catastrophic power failure, in a terrorist attack, for example. H.I.T.'s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.'s?"

"Vi, define."

"H.I.T. – High-Impulse Thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

Somewhere during Vi's definition, Maryanne and Rick embraced. She rested her forehead on his shoulder, shaking with fear. They were going to die. All this way, and it didn't matter. They were going to die afraid.

"It sets the air on fire. No pain," Jenner added, and Rick pulled away. Maryanne stood back by Lori. She felt Carl's hand slip into hers, and she held on to it.

"An end to sorrow, grief... regret... everything."

Silence.

Glass breaking. Daryl yelling. Shane yelling. Maryanne's ears were ringing. She could look at nothing but the ground. Somehow, Carl was still holding her hand. It was the only other thing she felt, besides the fear gnawing at everything – every part of her body.

Maryanne came back to the world when Lori's arm shot out in front of her. She blinked, looking to her right, where she saw them trying to get Daryl away. He was holding an axe. Maryanne could only guess that he wanted to bash the man's head in.

Part of her wanted to, too.

"You _do _want this," she heard Jenner argue. "Last night, you said you knew it was a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."

Maryanne stared at Rick.

"Wh-What?" she demanded quietly.

"You really said that?" Shane demanded. "After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" he asked, looking at Maryanne. She didn't respond.

"There is no hope. There never was!"

"There's always hope," Rick argued. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe it won't be here, but somebody, somewhere-"

"What part of 'everything's gone' don't you understand?" Andrea demanded.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right," Carol argued, tears streaming down her and her daughter's face. "You can't just keep us here!"

"One tiny moment – a millisecond. No pain."

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!"

"Wouldn't it be kinder? More compassionate to just... hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run out?" Jenner asked.

"No," Maryanne argued. "Because we don't want this. We want to keep fighting -"

"Shane!"

The sound of a gun cocking. Shane telling Rick to stay out of the way. Maryanne stood, watching as her brother approached the man, a gun pointed at her head.

"You open that door, or I will blow your head off, you hear me?!"

"Shane," Maryanne said. "Put the gun down. Listen to me, put the gun down. He's the only one who knows how to let us out. Please, put it down. For Carl."

Shane began yelling, pointing the gun at the computers and shooting them. Maryanne screamed, ducking down behind the blue wall.

"Are you done? Are you done now?" Rick demanded. He had the gun in his hands now.

"Yeah, I guess we all are," Shane retorted, standing back up. He handed the gun to T-Dog, then looked at the group, his eyes resting on Maryanne.

"I think you're lying," he finally said, looking back at Jenner.

"What?"

"You're lying. About no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest, or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed while the others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise... to her. My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife," Maryanne said. It wasn't a question.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could," Jenner answered. "How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table – I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place, I just worked here! In our field, she was an Einstein! Me... I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this, not me."

"You wife didn't have a choice," Rick argued. "You do. That's—that's all we want. A choice. A chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can," Maryanne added.

Jenner sighed. "I told you, topside's locked down, I can't do anything about those."

He walked over to another computer, typing in a number, and the doors opened.

"Come on!"

"Let's go!"

Maryanne grabbed Rick's hand. She wasn't going to leave him.

"There's your chance, take it."

"I'm grateful."

"The day will come when you won't be."

Jenner, then, leaned close, and quietly told them something that made Maryanne's heart stop.

"It was an airborne virus. We're all infected. It doesn't matter how you die. You'll turn."

She stared at him, and so did Rick.

"We've got four minutes left, come on!" Glenn yelled, and that's when Maryanne began to pull him away.

"Thank you," she said. They began to run back towards the door. That's when Jacqui stopped.

"I'm staying! Sweetie, I'm staying."

"That's insane!"

"No! It's completely sane! For the first time in a long time! I'm not endin' up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue, and no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out!"

And T-Dog did. They left – leaving Dale behind for a moment. Maryanne hated it, but she had no choice. They went to their rooms, quickly grabbing their belongings, and to the front doors.

"Get them doors open!"

"Come on!"

But they wouldn't budge.

"It doesn't work!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" T-Dog said, trying a pin pad. When that didn't work, Daryl and Shane took to using brute force on the windows. Maryanne had lost all faith. They weren't getting out.

A chair. A gun. Nothing.

Finally, Carol came forward with something she'd found in Rick's clothes the day he'd came to the camp. Maryanne recognized it as a grenade.

"Look out!" Shane bellowed, and everyone bolted down the stairs.

"Get down!" she heard Rick yell before the glass exploded.

"Rick!" she yelled when she got up and noticed him lying on his stomach. She helped him up, and after checking if he was okay, they escaped out the open window.

Shooting at stray walkers, they ran to the cars, Maryanne following Rick to the RV. Lori, Shane, and Carl followed.

"Wait, wait!" Maryanne said as she noticed two more people coming out of the window. "Here they come!"

Dale and Andrea jumped out of the window, running as fast as they could to the cars. A few seconds were left.

Rick honked the horn, and Maryanne leaned out the window.

"Get down!" she screamed. "Down, get down!"

They followed suite, against the furthest wall, Rick shielding her body with his. Carl's hand found hers again.

"Cover your ears, baby," she said to him, and he did.

Deafening. Heat washed over her in waves that were unbearable.

They got up, watching as what remained of their safe haven burned in flames. Maryanne's breathing was heavy.

Dale and Andrea joined them, and after a moment, they drove away.

What was next, she didn't know. There'd be pain. There'd be sorrow, guilt, and regret. She'd never be immune to it.

But there was always hope.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Fifteen

_An ivory dress covered in a sheer, floral printed overlay. The dress dipped into a low V, inch-wide straps covering her shoulders. Perfectly tied sash at the waist, and the dress flowed freely after that, pooling shortly onto the floor behind and around her._

_ Large, silver and faux diamond studs hung in her ears, and all hair back from her face in an elegant bun she didn't do herself. She'd been shaking the whole day, and she wasn't sure when the knots in her stomach were going to disappear. There was absolutely nothing to be nervous about, and yet she still was._

_ "Now, try not to fall," Lori, dressed in a dark purple dress, said jokingly. Maryanne rolled her eyes._

_ "No promises."_

_ She rolled her eyes, then left the room. After a few moments, which felt like years, Maryanne's father came and got her. They walked to the church doors, where Maryanne could hear hushed voices inside._

_ "You ready?" her father asked when music began to play._

_ She looked at him, smiled, and nodded._

_ The church doors opened._

They were in Carol's car. Rick was driving, Maryanne in the passenger seat, Carl in the back with Carol and her daughter. Maryanne was staring out the window, all the thoughts in her head memories racing through. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of Daryl's motorcycle.

"I was just thinking about the road trip we took to the Grand Canyon with Carl," she said.

"I don't remember that," Carl said as Rick laughed.

"No, you wouldn't, you were only a few months old. Besides, we never made it past Fort Worth."

"No, you got sick. I didn't know a baby could throw up so much," Rick added.

"Just tryin' to do a nice thing for your parents and it backfires," Maryanne said with a smile. "But the doctor in Texas said you'd live, we turned around and drove home."

"That sucks."

"No, it was a good trip."

"The best."

"Can we go see it? The Grand Canyon? I'd like to."

"I would, too," Sophia added. "Can we go?"

"We'd never go without you and your mom, sweetheart," Maryanne said, looking back at the girl with a smile. "That's a promise."

"Did my mom and dad go with us? On the first trip?" Carl asked.

"They wanted to," Maryanne replied honestly. "But we wouldn't let them. Figured they could use a break. You were a pretty annoying baby."

Carl rolled his eyes, but laughed. That was when Rick stopped the car, right behind Dale. Maryanne watched as Daryl pulled up beside the R.V., and after a few words were exchanged, he looped around the R.V. Back to the front, he guided them through, slowly.

Overturned cars, cars with doors open and rotting bodies, walkers strapped in still to seat belts. Maryanne could only watch as they drove by, holding onto Carl's hand with a secure hold.

The R.V. stopped again after a loud clank was heard, and Rick stopped behind him. He shut the car off, and everyone got out.

"... a thousand times over, dead in the water."

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

"Well," Dale started, his tone pointed. "Just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-"

Everyone looked over at the open trunk of a car by them, which was full of supplies.

"Okay, that was dumb..."

"If we can't find a radiator hose here..."

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we could find," Daryl replied.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog said.

"Maybe some water?"

"Or food?"

"This is a graveyard," Lori said loudly. "I don't know how I feel about this..."

Maryanne had to agree. She didn't feel right taking what wasn't hers, even if the people were dead.

"Come on, y'all. Just look around," Shane said. "Gather what you can."

Maryanne nodded, and she followed Lori and Carl as they began to look in cars. Carol and Sophia followed them a few moments later.

Maryanne looked in a car, Lori over her shoulder, to see a woman in the passenger seat. With the flies buzzing around her, it was clear that she was dead.

"Kids, don't look," Carol said, directing her words behind her.

Down more rows of cars, they found another open trunk full of supplies. Maryanne moved some supplies over to another car, digging through it, while Lori did the same. Carol looked though the items in the trunk.

"Ed never let me where nice things like this," she heard Carol say. "We're gonna need clothes."

"Yeah, you're right," Maryanne said, helping her grab a suitcase and move it to a car.

"Carl," Lori said, looking at her son. "Always within mine and Mary's sight, okay?"

Carl nodded.

"You too, Sophia."

Sophia nodded as well.

They loaded the clothes into the suitcase, and moved on. They were at an overturned truck when Rick ran over.

"Maryanne, Lori! Under the cars! Carl, Sophia, under the cars, now!"

Maryanne, Lori, and Carol crawled under a car, Carl and Sophia across from them, Rick under a car in front of them.

They desperately tried to comfort Carol, who was staring at her petrified daughter.

The smell reached them before the sounds did. The sound of shuffling feet and groans of the dead, the smell of rotting flesh. It was overwhelming.

It seemed to go on forever. She wondered if more were joining them. Finally, there was silence. They all looked around, but they didn't dare move.

Sophia was the first to move.

That's when a walker saw her.

She screamed as it crawled under the car with her. She crawled out, jumping over the roadblock, into the woods. The walkers, two now, followed her, and Rick was right behind them.

Finally, they couldn't hold Carol back anymore. She got out from under the car, running to the roadblock. Maryanne and Lori were right behind her.

"Mary! Those two walkers are after my baby!" Carol sobbed.

"Shh, shh," she said, grabbing her arms so she could follow. "Rick will find her. It'll be okay."

Rick ran past greenery, following Sophia as she ran. He couldn't risk shooting the walkers – that might draw the herd.

So he kept running.

Finally, she hit a clearing, and that's when he caught her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"Shoot them!" she said.

"No, no! Those walkers on the road would hear it," he explained quickly. "Then it wouldn't be just two, it'd be hundreds."

He picked her up as she whimpered, and they ran through the forest once again. When they hit a creek, he set her down, jumped in, and then picked her up again.

As quietly as he could, he tracked through the water, until he saw a gap in between some tree roots where she could fit.

"Now, Sophia, you have to listen to me," he said gently. "You hide in there. Squeeze in tight. I'll draw them away from here."

"No, no, no, don't leave!" she begged, her eyes wide.

"Listen, listen, listen," he replied. "They don't get winded, I do. I can only deal with them one at a time – I wouldn't be able to protect you."

She nodded in understanding, but Rick could tell she was still scared.

"This is how we both survive, you understand?"

She nodded, and he watched as she crawled as far in as she could in between the tree roots.

"If I don't make it back, run back to the highway, straight the way we came. Keep the sun on your left shoulder."

As the moans of the dead came closer, he made more noise. Soon, both walkers stumbled across the creek.

"Come on! You ugly son of a bitch, come on!" he said, splashing some water at them. One stumbled in, falling in the water before standing and reaching for him. As Rick ran off, the two lumbered after him.

He ran some more, until he was sure he was far enough from Sophia. That's when he found a rock and hid behind a tree. As he heard one lumbering close, he bashed its head in. The second walker followed close behind, and Rick took care of it as well.

As the day grew later, Maryanne's worry grew more. Neither of them had come back. She'd already started to fear for the worst.

Just as she was about to loose her mind, Rick came stumbling out of the woods – soaking wet and covered in blood, she could only assume walker. He walked over the metal roadblock, and the rest of the group, including Maryanne, walked over to him.

"Where's Sophia?" she asked as she kissed his cheek, and when he didn't respond, she pulled away and looked at him.

"Sh-she didn't come back?"

Maryanne's eyebrows furrowed.

"No... she didn't," Maryanne replied softly. She didn't want Carol to hear this, though it was probably inevitable.

"Dammit," he said. "I found a place for her to hide, told her if I didn't make it back, to head back to the highway. I checked where I left her, and she wasn't there..."

He left the group once again, this time Shane, Glenn, and Daryl joining him. Rick took them to the spot where he told Sophia to hide. She still wasn't there.

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked. Rick nodded. He hated himself for leaving her – she'd begged him not to, why didn't he just listen? He could've found a way to take care of both of the walkers.

"I left her right here," he said. "I drew the walkers away up in that direction, up the creek."

"Without a paddle," Daryl replied. "Seems where we've landed."

"She was gone by the time I got back here," Rick said, once again. "I figured she just took off and ran back to the group. I told her – go that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder."

"Hey, Short Round!" Daryl said as he walked away from Rick. "Why don't you step off to one side, you're muckin' up the trail."

"Assumin' she knows her left from her right," Shane said. Rick sighed. He wasn't in the mood.

"Shane, she understood me fine," he said shortly.

"Kid's tired and scared, man. She had her a close call with two walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck."

"Got clear prints right here," Daryl said, backing up Rick's claim. "She did what you said – headed back toward the highway. Let's spread out, make our way back!"

"She couldn't have made it far," Shane added, helping Rick up. "Hey, we're gonna find her. All tuckered out in a bush somewhere."

They followed Daryl as he tracked her prints, until he reached a stopping point.

"Doin' just fine, till right here," he said. "All she had to do was keep goin'. She veered off that way."

They looked in the direction that Daryl pointed, and Rick felt his heartbeat quicken. He hoped – he prayed – he'd find this girl for Carol's sake. For everyone's sake.

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked.

"Maybe she saw somethin' that spooked her. Made her run off?"

"Walker?"

"I don't see any other footprints, just hers."

"So, what do we do? All of us press on?"

"No, better if you and Glenn get back up to the highway," Rick said. "People are gonna start panicking. Let 'em know we're on her trail and we're doin' everything we can. But most of all, keep everybody calm."

"I'll keep 'em busy scavengin' cars," Shane replied with a nod. "Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied."

He and Glenn left, and Rick and Daryl continued on the veered path Sophia took.

Moving cars was first on the list. Maryanne stood by Carol as she watched the forest. Shane had pulled her aside and asked her to keep an eye on the woman, and Maryanne agreed.

"Why aren't we all looking, why are we moving cars?" Carol asked.

Maryanne sighed, she started to answer, but Dale beat her to it.

"We've got to get enough room so I can get the R.V turned around once it's running. Turning around is going to be easier than getting through this mess. Now that we've got fuel, we can take a bypass that Glenn flagged down."

"Well, we're not goin' anywhere until my daughter gets back," Carol said firmly.

"Hey," Maryanne replied, her hand going to the woman's shoulder. "That goes without sayin', honey."

"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay? It's just a matter of time."

"Can't be soon enough for me," Andrea added. That's when Carol turned back around, and so did Maryanne. She tuned out the conversation.

"They'll find her, Carol," she said, and Carol nodded. "Daryl's a good hunter, and they're both stubborn. They're not gonna give up until they find her."

"I hope you're right."

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Sixteen

"Mary."

Maryanne turned to see Lori standing behind her.

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

"I think you need to talk to Shane."

"Why?"

"He's just... been acting weird. He yelled at Carl and he won't talk to me."

Maryanne, with eyebrows knitted together, nodded. Lori took her place beside Carol, and Maryanne walked over to Shane.

"Alright," she said, standing at the hood of the green car he was fixing. "What's wrong with you?"

No answer.

"You don't yell at Carl and you certainly don't ignore your wife if everything's okay. Now tell me what's wrong, Shane, please."

Still no answer.

"I don't believe this. Are you givin' me the cold shoulder?"

"Isn't that what you want?"

"No! You're my brother, Shane! Of course I don't want you to ignore me."

He didn't reply.

"Is this about that argument we had at the C.D.C.? Because-"

"I'm leaving."

Maryanne took a second to reply. Her eyebrows furrowed in shock.

"Leaving?"

"As in gone for good. I'm gonna quietly slip away, first chance I get."

"And what do I tell you're wife and son? Hm?"

"That they're better off without me. You've been wanting to tell them that for awhile now."

"Shane, you know that's not true."

"It is."

He started the engine of the car before Maryanne could reply, and another voice began to talk.

"_The emergency alert system has been activated. The Civil Service Department has issued the following message: Normal broadcasting will cease immediately. This is a civil emergency. Do not venture outside."_

"Is that a local signal?"

"It's gotta be within 50 miles of here," Dale answered.

"... _avoid infected at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated-"_

"Asshole," Shane mumbled as he shut off the radio. "Okay, let's get back to work.

Maryanne rolled her eyes, and walked away. She pulled Lori aside, and told her Shane's plan.

"There's something wrong with him, Lori," Maryanne said.

"Yeah, it's you."

"Excuse me?" Maryanne asked after a moment of stunned silence.

"You accuse him of lying to you and then you refuse to speak with him. That's enough to set anyone off, Mary!"

"He did lie to me, he told me Rick was dead. I refused to speak to him because there was nothing to say. Is it also my fault that he cornered me at the C.D.C and pushed me to the ground?!"

"Oh, he pushed you, big deal. He's explained to you fifty times he thought Rick was dead. It's an honest mistake!"

"While that may be true," Maryanne started, her voice low and dangerous. "Him pushing me around is a bigger deal than you think. You might be next, or your son – is that what you want?!"

Silence. Lori stared at her.

"I suggest you go talk to your husband and try to convince him to take you and Carl when he leaves. Because you and I both know that he will."

With that, Maryanne walked away.

Rick and Daryl continued on Sophia's trail, Rick's heart still racing with hope they'd find her.

They ducked down when they heard leaves rustling, and saw a walker lumbering downhill. They followed it, Rick going ahead and Daryl lagging behind. Rick whistled, and it made a noise before Daryl shot an arrow through it's eye.

"Sophia!"

No answer, other than his voice echoing. Rick knelt beside the walker, examining it's hands.

"What are you lookin' for?" Daryl asked.

"Skin under the fingernails," Rick answered. He flipped the walker over. "It fed recently..."

He opened it's mouth, trying not to gag at the stench.

"There's flesh caught in it's teeth," he said, picking out some skin.

"Yeah, what kind of flesh?" Daryl asked.

"Only one way to know for sure," Rick replied after a pause. He pulled out a knife, forcing the walker's shirt open. He readied the knife, when Daryl stopped him.

"Here, I'll do it. How many kills you skin and gut in your life? Anyway, mine's sharper."

Rick nodded and put his knife away, watching as Daryl cut open his midsection. He flinched at the noises, the crunching of ribs.

"Now comes the bad part," Daryl said after taking a brief pause. He reached into the body and began to pull things out, Rick covering his nose.

"Yeah, hoss had a big meal not too long ago. I feel it in there," Daryl told him. More squishing and digging, and Daryl pulled the stomach out, throwing it on the ground.

"I got this," Rick said, cutting the stomach open and stretching it with gloved hands.

"Bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch," Daryl said, pulling out a small skull.

"At least we know," Rick replied.

"At least we know."

Sunset. They still weren't back.

"It's late. It's gonna be dark soon," Carol said quietly.

"I know," Maryanne replied, her arm around Carol's shoulders. "It's gonna be okay. They'll find her."

Carol nodded, and they both continued to watch the forest.

After a few minutes, Maryanne saw Rick and Daryl coming out of the forest, back up the hill.

"They're back," she said, loud enough for the others to hear her.

"You... you didn't find her?" Carol asked quietly when they didn't see Sophia. Maryanne sighed, and her worry began to grow even more.

"Her trail went cold," Rick explained. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own!" Carol argued. "To spend the night alone in the woods!"

"Out in the dark's no good," Daryl replied. "We'd just be trippin' over ourselves."

"But she's 12, she can't be out there on her own! You didn't find anything!"

"I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there."

"And we tracked her for awhile," Daryl added.

"We'll find her, Carol," Maryanne said quietly. "I promise you, we will find Sophia. It'll be okay."

"We have to make this an organized effort," Rick said loudly, to the group. "Daryl knows the woods better than anybody, I've asked him to oversee this."

"Is... is that blood?" Carol asked, staring at Daryl's clothes. Maryanne's heart stopped when she noticed the crimson stains on his clothes.

"We took down a walker."

"Walker? Oh, God."

"There was no sign it was anywhere near Sophia," Rick told her. He sounded confident.

"How do you know, Rick?" Maryanne asked.

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure," Daryl told her.

Carol broke away from Maryanne's hold to sit down on the metal roadblock. Maryanne sat down next to her.

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with?" Carol demanded. "How could you just leave her?!"

"Those two walkers were on us," Rick explained. "I-I had to draw them off, it was her best chance!"

"He didn't have another choice. He did what he thought was best, Carol," Maryanne said.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own?! She's just a child... she's just a child..."

"It was my only option, it was the only choice I could make."

"And no one doubts that, Rick," Maryanne told him.

"My little girl got left in the woods," Carol said sadly.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello everyone, how are you? I hope you're well.**

**I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions – one I hadn't even thought about is actually in this chapter... and you're probably gonna hate me, but that makes it all the more fun... hehehe...**

**Anyway, now that I'm done being evil and evasive, time for the chapter! I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Seventeen

"Everybody takes a weapon."

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," Andrea argued as Maryanne picked up the hatchet, Lori a large knife. The two hadn't spoken since their argument yesterday, and things were still tense between her and Shane. She felt bad for Carl – he didn't understand.

"What about the guns?"

"We already went over that. Daryl, Rick, and I are carryin'. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea mumbled.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment," Shane started. "A herd happens to be passin' by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it."

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark," Daryl told them, and Maryanne nodded.

"Stay quiet, and stay sharp," Rick added. Maryanne's grip around the handle of the hatchet tightened involuntarily.

"Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."

"Everybody, assemble your packs. Dale, keep on those repairs. We got to get this R.V ready to move."

"We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to," Dale promised. "Good luck out there, bring Sophia back."

"Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone?" Lori asked, and he looked at his mother.

"I'm goin' with you," he said firmly. "You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible?"

Shane and Lori looked at each other, and she shrugged.

"Your call," she told him. "I can't always be the bad guy."

"If it matters, I think he's in good hands. We'll all keep an eye on him, and he wants to help," Maryanne said. Lori tensed at her voice, and Shane looked at her with harsh eyes.

"Okay, alright," Shane said. He gestured for his son to follow him, and he did. Lori followed soon behind.

Maryanne sighed, shaking her head. She looked up to see Dale looking at her.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" he asked.

"I just... things have been a little... tense between myself and my brother lately. And now things are getting tense between Lori and I. It'll be fine."

Dale nodded, and Maryanne walked away to join the rest of the search party.

With Daryl in the lead, Maryanne walked behind Andrea, keeping her eyes open for Sophia.

Suddenly, they turned off, and Maryanne noticed they were walking towards a tent. Her heart began to race.

They all crouched low to the ground.

"She could be in there," Rick said.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there."

Rick and Daryl walked forward, followed by her brother. Maryanne watched as Daryl walked ahead of them, circling the tent. The rest of the group joined them when Carol was called over.

"Call out softly," Rick instructed her, and she nodded. "If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."

"Sophia, sweetie? Are you in there? It's mommy. We're all here, baby... it's mommy."

Slowly, Rick and Shane crept forward and Daryl unzipped the tent. Daryl went inside, and after a few moments, came back out.

"It ain't her."

"What's in her."

"Guy did what Jenner said. Opted out. Isn't that what he called it?"

Maryanne sighed, her hand on Carol's shoulder.

That's when they heard the church bells.

Heads swiveling in the direction, they all began to run.

"What direction?"

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure."

"Damn, it's hard to tell out here," Shane replied.

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia does, too," Carol said.

"Someone's ringing those bells. Maybe calling others."

"Or signaling they found her."

"She might be ringing them herself," Maryanne said.

They kept running in the direction that they heard the bells.

They stumbled across a white church, small gardens surrounding it. Maryanne sighed when she didn't see a steeple, or a bell.

"That can't be it," she said. "No steeple, no bells."

"Rick!" Shane said as he began to run towards the church. They all followed, sprinting pasts gravestones and to the front steps.

Rick, Daryl, and Shane reached the front doors, and Rick pushed them open. Maryanne handed him her hatchet, and they took out the three walkers that were in the church.

"Sophia!" Rick yelled.

"Sophia! Come on out, honey!" Maryanne added, looking around for any sign of her.

"I'm telling you, man, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple."

The bells began to sound again, this time much louder. Maryanne jumped, and they all went outside, to the side of the church.

But the bells weren't a sound made by Sophia. They were a sound made by a speaker. Glenn pulled a couple of chords, and the ringing stopped.

"A timer. It's on a timer," Daryl said. Maryanne sighed, running a hand over her ponytail.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit..." Carol said, heading back in the church. Lori followed.

Maryanne pulled Rick aside, leading him to one of the gardens. She noticed the plants were dying and withering, and she wished she had some water to spare for them.

"None of this is your fault," she stated, taking his hands.

Rick shook his head, looking at the ground.

"I shouldn't have left her. I should've stayed – I just... I had to draw the walkers off. I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought she'd wait for me."

"No one is blaming you here, Rick. We're gonna find her, and she's gonna be fine. I promise you, it's gonna be okay, sweetheart, I swear."

Rick nodded, and Maryanne kissed his cheek.

"Hey," she said, and he looked up. "No matter what happens. I love you."

He smiled. "I love you, too."

"Okay. You guys are gonna head back down the creek bed, Daryl, you're in charge. Rick and I are just gonna stay out here another hour, just to be thorough."

"You're splittin' us up. You sure?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I'm comin', too," Maryanne said.

"Mary..." Rick started.

"No. I want to find Sophia, and I want to go with you. You both know you're not gonna stop me, it'll just be easier on everyone if you just say yes."

Rick sighed, shaking his head. "Fine."

"I want to stay, too," Carl told them. "I'm her friend."

Shane and Lori exchanged a look, and Lori sighed.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"When did you start growing up?" she asked, embracing him.

The group split up, and as Daryl's group walked away, Rick looked back at the church.

"Give me a minute?" he said, and Shane nodded.

"Yeah."

"We'll be here," Maryanne said.

It was a few minutes of Maryanne walking through the graves, silently reading the names. She looked back at Shane and Carl, who were talking, smiling. It made her smile.

After a couple more minutes, she made her way back to the church and sat on the steps. Shane and Carl joined her a few moments later. She smiled at her nephew, smoothing his hair that his father had ruffled earlier.

"Find what you were lookin' for?" Shane asked when he heard Rick leaving.

"I guess I'll find out," Rick replied, walking away from them.

The greenery was starting to blur in Rick's mind. He walked ahead, Mary behind him, Carl behind her, and Shane in the back.

A twig snapped, and they all stopped. Rick's heart began to race – was this Sophia?

Something moved in the bushes, and he and Shane stepped forward.

A buck stepped out of the woods, and Shane readied his gun.

"Shane," Mary said gently, and he looked at her before lowering his gun.

"You want to go see it?" she asked her nephew, who nodded with a big smile. "Okay, come on."

Slowly and quietly, they stepped forward, Mary on the right, Carl on the left.

Someone stepped on a twig, and it caused the buck to look over. Both of them stopped for a moment, and when the buck didn't move, both of them began to creep forward. The buck only watched, as if it trusted them.

Maybe this was the sign that Rick asked for.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

Stunned silence.

"Oh, no," Shane said.

Then it registered in Rick's brain.

Maryanne was on the ground, blood staining her blue shirt. Carl was on the ground, too, staring at the unconscious body of his aunt.

"No, no, no," Rick groaned, running forward.

_Please no. Not like this. Please, God, no._

**Well... What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Also in your review, let's start a poll. I'm not caught up on season 6, so try not to include spoilers, but I'd like to see your thoughts. Who do you think Neagan killed in the season finale last night?**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Eighteen

Pressure on the wound. Rick calling her name. Shane pointing his gun wildly around them, trying to find the person who shot his sister. Rick thought he heard Carl crying.

Suddenly, a heavy-set men came out of the forest, a wide eyed look on his face. Stuttering, he apologized profusely, but Rick didn't care.

"You see her?!" Shane demanded, pointing to Maryanne. "She's gonna die, now you're gonna help us!"

The man lead them out of the forest, into a field. Rick struggled to keep running and hold the limp body of Maryanne. She was starting to pale.

"Hey, you move, shithead! You get us there!" Shane yelled when the man started to lag behind.

"How far?!" Rick demanded. "How far?!"

"Half a mile, that way," he said between breaths, pointing straight ahead. "Hershel! Talk to Hershel, he'll help your wife!"

So, Rick ran.

He came to a white, two story house with a barbed wire fence. He kept running, until he began to reach the house.

_Please, please, please._

"Was she bit?" a man with white hair that was brushed back asked. He was dressed in brown slacks with a white button down, and suspenders.

"Shot," Rick answered. "By your man."

"Otis?" a woman in a floral dress and blonde hair asked.

"He said to find Hershel – is that you?"

The man nodded.

"Help me, help my wife, please!"

"Inside, get her inside," Hershel instructed, going back up the steps. He began to shout instructions to the other people in the home, leading Rick to a bed.

"In here," he said, pushing back the covers. Gently, Rick set Mary down on the bed.

"Pillowcase," Hershel said to him.

"Is she alive?" Rick asked.

"Pillowcase, quick!"

Rick nodded and grabbed a pillow, taking off the pillowcase.

"Fold it, make a pad."

He did.

"Put pressure on the wound," Hershel told him, and Rick obeyed.

"I've got a heartbeat," Hershel said, and Rick nodded. That provided him some relief, but not a lot. "It's faint."

"I got it, step back," the blonde woman, he thought that Hershel said her name was Patricia, said. Rick stepped back, and Patricia took his place. Hershel began shouting more commands to someone named Maggie.

"We need some space."

"Your name?"

"Rick," he said quietly. "I'm-I'm Rick."

"Rick? Okay, we're gonna do everything we can, but you need to give us some room. Now."

Rick nodded, and though he didn't want to, he left. Numbly, he went to the front door, stepping outside as Shane, Carl, and Otis finally arrived.

"She's alive? She's still alive?" Otis asked, and Rick nodded. He tried to wipe the sweat away, but he must've smudged blood on his face, because Shane took a rag to his face. He put it in Rick's hands, and Rick began to slowly and shakily wipe his hands of Mary's blood.

They all went back inside, Carl moving close to Shane's side. She looked so pale...

"You know her blood type?"

"A Positive, same as mine," Rick replied without hesitation.

"That's fortunate," Hershel said. Rick swore he heard relief in the man's voice. "Don't wander far, I'm gonna need you. What happened?"  
>"I was trackin' a buck," Otis explained. "The bullet went through it... went clean through..."<p>

"The deer slowed the bullet down," Hershel mused. "Which certainly saved her life. But it did not go through clean, it broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out, I'm counting six."

"I didn't see her," Rick heard Otis say to someone standing behind him. "Not until she was on the ground."

"Lori doesn't know," Rick said. "Her best friend doesn't know... her best friend doesn't know..."

That's when he began to cry.

In silence, Rick and Shane sat on the couch. Carl sat next to his father, picking dirt out from under his fingernails. The clock ticked away behind them, driving Rick insane.

"Why'd I let her come with us?" Rick asked quietly. "I should've made her go with Daryl."

"You know, you start that, you'll never get that monkey off your back. Besides, you and I both know Mary would've come with us anyway."

"A little girl goes missing, you find her. Simple. You called it, said to head back."

"Doesn't matter what I said," Shane argued.

"Mary got shot 'cause I wouldn't cut bait, it should be me in there."

"You've been there, partner. You pulled through, so will she."

"Is that why I got out of that hospital? Found her for it to end like this? This some kind of sick joke?"

"Shh," Shane said as Carl looked over at them, tears filling his eyes. "You stop it. Just stop."

"I'm sorry," Rick said. "That's your sister in there, I'm-"

Rick was interrupted when Maggie opened the door.

"Rick."

He stood, walking into the room. Maryanne was awake, tears streaming down her face, struggling against them.

"She needs blood!" Hershel said. "You, hold her down!"

Shane nodded and held his sister's wrists.

"Hey, Mary, look at me. It's okay, Mary, they're gonna help you. You're gonna be okay," he whispered to her, and she nodded.

But she began to scream when Hershel dug into the bullet wound with a pair of long tweezers. She began to struggle against Shane, who was speaking gentle words to her.

"Stop it, you're killing her!" Rick yelled, and she looked at him. He felt horrible – there was so much pain in her eyes. She looked scared.

"She needs blood!" Patricia reminded him.

"Do it now!"

And so, she did. She jabbed a needle into Rick's arm. As she did, Maryanne stopped struggling. She stopped moving. She stopped crying and screaming.

"Hey, hey," Shane said, touching his sister's pale face.

"She just passed out," Hershel told him. He pulled out a sharp metal fragment and set it aside.

"One down... five more to go."

"Pressure's stable," Hershel said as he took off his stethoscope.

"Lori, and the others, th-they need to know. I mean, Mary's lying here shot."

"And she's going to need more blood," Hershel said quietly. "He can't go more than 50 feet from this bed."

Rick nodded and tried to stand, but stumbled, lightheaded. Patricia grabbed his arm, and Shane tried to help him out, but Rick pushed him away.

"I'm all right."

He left the room, going back into the living room and sitting in a chair. Maggie and Otis were there, intently watching them and waiting for an update.

"She's stable for now," Shane said.

"Shane, Lori's got to know, she's gotta be here. That's her best friend, Mary would want her here."

"Okay. I get that. I'm gonna handle it. But you've got to handle your end."

"M-My end?"

"Your end is bein' there for my sister. For your wife. Even if she didn't need your blood to survive, there's no way I'd let you walk out that door. Man, I'd break your legs if you tried, you know that, right? My sister is in that room, you're right. But when she wakes up, it's not me she wants to see. It's you. If something happened to her, and you weren't here... if she slipped away while you were gone... you would never forgive yourself for that."

Rick nodded. "You're right."

"When was I ever wrong?" Shane asked with a snort. "Man... when you were in that hospital... you should've seen her. I mean... the strength in that woman... you can't imagine it. See, that's what you gotta have now. That's what Mary would want you to have now. Carl needs that from you – he's scared to death. So you wire yourself tight, my friend. You hear?"

Rick nodded.

"You've got the hard part. Just leave the rest to me, okay?"

"Okay," Rick replied, nothing but gratitude coloring his tone. Despite everything, he was grateful that Shane was willing to stand by him and Mary now.

The door opened, and Hershel stepped out. Rick and Shane stood.

"She's out of danger for the moment," Hershel said. "But I need to remove those remaining fragments."

"How? You saw how she was..."

"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others."

"Oh, man..."

"There's more."

"Tell me."

"Her belly's distended, her pressure is dropping, which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must've nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open her up, find the bleeding, and stitch it. And she can't move while I'm in there – I mean at all. If she reacts the same as before... I'll sever an artery and she'll be dead in minutes."

Rick nodded, trying to digest all the information that Hershel was giving him.

"To even try this, I have to put her under. But if I do, she won't be able to breathe on her own. Same bad results."

"What'll it take?" Rick asked quietly.

"You'll need a respirator," Otis said. "What else?"

"The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures..."

"If I had all that, you could save her?" Rick asked.

"If I had all that, I could try."

"Nearest hospital went up in flames about a month ago," Otis said. "The high school..."

"That's what I was thinking," Hershel replied. "They set up a F.E.M.A. shelter there. They would have everything we need."

"Place was overrun last time I saw it, you couldn't get near it... maybe it's better now."

"I said leave the rest to me," Shane said. "Is it too late to take that back?"

"You know, I hate you going alone."

"Come on. Doc, why don't you do me a list and draw me a map?"

"You won't need a map," Otis said. "I'll take you there. Ain't but five miles."

"Otis, no," Patricia objected.

"Honey, we don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible," Otis argued. "I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes it on alone. I'll be alright."

"Are you sure about this?" Shane asked

"Do you even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis asked.

"Come to think, no."

"I've been a volunteer E.M.T. I do. Now we could talk about this until next Sunday or we could go do it real quick."  
>"I think right quick."<p>

"I should thank you," Rick said.

"Wait till that wife of yours is up and around. Then we'll talk. I'll gather some things."

"Where is she? Lori?" Maggie asked. Rick told her, and she left with a weapon. Soon, Shane and Otis left, and Rick was left alone with his thoughts.

**What did you think? I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Nineteen

Rick stepped back out onto the porch, feeling less dizzy, the setting sun burning into his skin. It was a welcome distraction. He looked out, past the fence, waiting for Maggie to return with Lori.

His heart hadn't stopped racing. The guilt and fear still twisted and ground together in his stomach.

He turned when he heard the door opening to see Hershel stepping out. The man walked towards him.

"This place is beautiful," Rick said.

"Been in my family for 160 years," Hershel replied, and Rick nodded.

"I can't believe how serene it is, how untouched... you're lucky."

"We weren't completely unscathed. We lost friends, neighbors... the epidemic took my wife, my stepson."

"I'm sorry."

"My daughters were spared. I'm grateful to God for that. These people here... all we got left is each other."

Rick thought of Otis, who was with Shane.

"Just hoping we can ride it out in peace 'till there's a cure," Hershel mused.

"We were at the C.D.C.," Rick told him. "It's gone now... there is no cure."

"I don't believe it. When AIDS came along, everyone panicked. One boy in town came down with it, and some parents pulled their children from school so they didn't have to sit in the same room."

"This is a whole other thing," Rick argued.

"That's what we always say. 'This one's different'."

"Well, this one is."

"Mankind's been fighting plagues since the start," Hershel said, looking at him. "We get our behinds kicked for awhile, then we bounce back. It's nature correcting itself, restoring some balance."

"I wish I could believe that."

They stared out into the field, and the sound of a horse coming their way signaled that Maggie was back.

Rick left the porch and met her halfway, and Lori got off the back of the horse.

Silently, Lori looked at the blood on his shirt, and that's when she began to cry. Rick embraced her, which she returned.

"Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's in here," Rick said. Lori nodded and he lead her to the room where she was undoubtedly asleep.

When they entered the house, Carl embraced his mother, trying to explain what happened through tears. Rick continued onto the room, where he sat down next to his still-pale, unconscious wife, and took her hand in his.

"Oh, God," Lori muttered from the doorway. Slowly, she knelt beside Mary and took her hand.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears choking her voice. "You're gonna be okay... I promise. We'll make it okay."

Rick gave more blood.

"Slow, slow," Lori warned when he got up unsteadily. "How many transfusions?"

"Two. Only two."

"She wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital. I had to talk her out of it."

Rick nodded, tears pricking his eyes again.

_Be strong. For her._

Slowly, and with Lori's help, he went into the kitchen, where Hershel gave him a glass of orange juice.

"Thank you," he said, and Hershel nodded.

"Okay," Lori started as Rick shakily drank. "So, I understand, when Shane gets back with this other man..."

"Otis."

"Otis," she continued. "The idiot who shot her."

"Ma'am, it was an accident."

"I'll take that under advisement later, for now, he's the idiot who shot my sister-in-law."

"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right," Rick told her, and she nodded.

"Okay, and as soon as they get back, you can perform this surgery?"

"I'll certainly do my best."

"Okay... I mean, you've done this procedure before."

"Well, yes, in a sense."

"In a sense?" she demanded.

"Lori, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick said irritably.

"No, no I understand that. But, I mean, you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes ma'am. Of course. A vet."

"A veteran? A combat medic?" Lori asked, and Rick's heart began to beat quickly again. It only made him more lightheaded.

"A veterinarian," Hershel corrected.

Lori stared at him for a few moments before looking at Rick, who looked at her before looking back at the table.

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows, pigs?"

"I-I have to sit," Rick said quietly. He pulled out the chair, and sat down. Lori caught him as he was about to fall over, tipping the orange juice over.

"Completely in over your head, aren't you?" she asked, almost angrily, as she slammed the cup upright.

"Ma'am... aren't we all?"

Shane and Otis crept along, uphill, towards the back of an ambulance. Otis breathed heavily behind him. It was starting to grate on his nerves.

"Alright," Shane said as they rested behind a cop car. "Let's take a look."

Slowly, they both stood, and looked at what they were dealing with.

Shane wished they hadn't.

He sighed as he looked around – walkers everywhere. There had to be at least a hundred of them, maybe more inside.

This didn't look good.

"You see that big, mobile medical trailer across the way?" Otis asked between breaths, and Shane looked again. Blue, with a dark blue banner that, in white letters, read "Emergency Medical Services".

"_That's _where we gotta get to?" Shane demanded.

"Yeah..." Otis said, and Shane sighed.

_This isn't going to be good..._

Night began to fall, and Shane crept around to the driver's side door. There, he popped the trunk open, and Otis pushed it up, flinching when it squeaked.

Inside, they found roadside flares, and Shane laughed quietly.

Two by two, he lit them and threw them away from the car and the medical trailer.

As the walkers moved away, they ran inside the trailer, shutting the door behind them.

"Pressure's dropping again," Hershel informed them. "We can't wait much longer."

"Take some more – whatever she needs, them I'm gonna go," Rick replied.

"Go? Go where?" Lori asked.

"They said five miles, they should be long back by now. Something's gone wrong."

"Are you insane? You're not going after them!"

"Rick, listen to her."

"If they got into trouble-"

"You're in no condition to do anything about it," Hershel argued. "You've given too much blood, you're barely on your feet. You wouldn't make it across the yard."

"If something happened, I have to go."

"No, your place is here," Lori, tone pointed, argued. "If Shane said he'll be back, he'll be back. He's like you that way."

"I can't just sit here!"

"That's exactly what you do! If you need to pray, or cry, or tell God he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leaving, Rick. Mary needs you here. She was right by your side when you were in the hospital – she deserves that right back. Do you hear me?"

Rick nodded.

As quickly as they could, they grabbed the supplies they needed.

"Oh, here," Otis said. "Endotracheal intubator, baby. For my new respirator."

"Come on," Shane said, smiling. They shouldered their full packs, and went to the door, Shane leading. Slowly, he opened the door, and knocked over a bottle as he was leaving.

"Goddamn it," Shane mumbled. He began to run, Otis behind him. The walkers began to run themselves.

"Come on, stay with me!" he said over his shoulder.

They ran up the stairs, past a fence, dodging walkers who lunged at them.

"In here, in here!" Shane said, tugging on the doors to the school. Locked.

Cursing, he ran to his left, only to be cornered by more walkers.

"Okay, stay back!" he warned, and with two rounds, he shot the glass to the doors.

Shane ran in, Otis behind him, and together they closed the metal gate.

"Damn it!" Shane yelled as more walkers began to pile up.

**What did you think? I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty

They got in. Of course they would – why wouldn't they? They went through the halls, the walkers right behind them. Shane was getting frustrated – every exit seemed to be blocked somehow. Walkers, a chain and lock on the door.

They had to get out.

They just had to.

A sandwich and a glass of milk. Lori begging him to eat.

"For Mary," she said, tears in her eyes.

And so, Rick ate. The food was tasteless in his mouth, but she was right. He needed to keep his strength up to give more blood.

So he'd be awake when she woke up.

Shane and Otis still hadn't returned, and no matter how much blood Rick gave, he swore she was getting paler.

He had to hold onto the hope that Shane was coming back. He had to.

They made it to the gym, and climbed the bleachers. Shane was silently praying that they wouldn't be able to climb up after them.

He looked around for an exit, and besides the doors, only saw some windows that looked smaller than what even he could fit into.

"Those windows," he asked over the sounds of the dead. "What's on the other side?"  
>"About a 20 foot drop with nothing to catch you, maybe some bushes, then the athletic fields."<p>

"We just need enough time. We got to get up there, get them open, then get out," Shane said. It was risky, stupid. But it was their only shot.

He had to save his sister. Not for Rick, for himself.

"Not me, maybe you," Otis argued.

"Hey, hey, hey."

"Come on, man, look at me! You really think I can squeeze through one of them tiny windows? They'd be all over us. Look, we lay down some fire, and get a head start. You stay here, I hop down, draw them away. That gives you the chance to get up the bleachers and out a window."

"And where do you go?" Shane asked.

"Locker room," Otis replied, shining his flashlight to a white door. "Down those steps."

"Looks like a good way to get trapped."

"It's got windows, too, and more my size. I get out through one, I double back, we meet up out in the field."

"You're a crazy son of a bitch, ain't you?" Shane asked, but he was grateful the man came up with a plan. Shane knew how much time had already been wasted, and he wasn't thinking of anything that would get the both of them out.

"Just trying to do right for your sister."

"You take three shots and you go," he told Otis, who nodded. "After that, I fire. I'll lay down a cover for you. I'll get you a lead."

"All right."

Otis took his three shots, and then he ran. When he landed, a walker grabbed onto his ankle.

That was the first one Shane took down.

The walkers ran after him, and Shane shot until Otis made it into the locker room. Shane jumped down, ran up the stairs to the window, which he broke. A couple of walkers were soon on him, and he took them down.

Packs first.

Gun second.

Shane, then, sat on the window frame, taking a deep breath. He was always the one sneaking out after curfew – jumping out of the window, which Mary always closed behind him. But that was only two stories.

This was twenty feet.

He dropped down and held onto the window frame by his fingertips. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't afraid. He knew he was going to get hurt – he just hoped that he didn't die. Because if he died, chances were, Otis may not make it either.

And then his sister would die.

Suddenly, a walker grabbed onto him, and Shane punched it a couple of times.

When that did nothing, he grabbed the gun from his waistband and shot it.

The walker went down, and so did he.

Shane landed on his ankle, which he felt break. After a moment of laying on the ground in pain, he heard gunshots.

That's when he stood, grabbed his packs and gun, and ran.

They waited by Mary's bedside as Hershel checked her blood pressure again. Rick hadn't let go of her hand.

"Hey."

He looked up and over at the doorway, where T-Dog and Glenn stood with Maggie.

"Hey," he replied quietly.

"Um, we're here, okay?"

"Thank you," Lori replied.

"Whatever you need."

They left, and Hershel rolled down the sheets, exposing the wound on Maryanne's stomach.

"If they don't get back soon, we're gonna have a decision to make," Hershel told them.

"And that is?"

"Whether to operate on your wife without the respirator."

"You said that wouldn't work."

"I know. It's extremely unlikely. But we can't wait much longer."

Shane ducked behind a cement wall as walkers slowly walked by. He, then, went to his left, taking down a walker with his rifle. He leaned against the fence for just a moment as he reloaded, and he moved back the second walkers began to pile onto it.

He raised his gun to shoot at the walkers, and the sound of a gunshot rang out.

As the walker fell, Shane looked to see Otis standing there, holding his rifle. He continued taking down the walkers, Shane taking down the last one.

"Man, I thought I lost you," Shane said as he rejoined Otis, handing him one of the packs.

"That was my last rifle round," Otis said.

"Mine, too."

"Come on!"

They sat outside of Mary's room. Neither of them spoke. So many things were racing through Rick's mind, he didn't even know where to begin articulating them.

Suddenly, they heard coughing. Both of them stood and ran into her room. Lori stood behind, with Carl, who had heard her coughing and ran to join them, as Rick knelt beside her. His hand slipped into hers and the other smoothing her hair. Sweat began to beat on her forehead.

She looked between him and Hershel.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly.

"Hey, Mary," Rick said. "That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident."

"It hurts," she said, squeezing his hand.

"I know, I know," he replied.

"Where's Shane?"

"He went to get some more supplies, he'll be back," Lori told her, and Mary looked at the woman, confusion evident on her face.

"Lori?"

"I'm here," she said with a smile. "So is Carl."

Mary's face softened as she looked at her nephew, who was crying.

"Hey, Carl," she said. "Did you tell your mom about the buck?"

"What buck?" Lori asked.

"We saw a buck in the woods. God, it was so pretty... and so close," Mary replied. "I mean, I've never been..."

Her words trailed off. Her face went slack and her eyes stared past them. Rick's heart dropped.

_No, no, not now. Not with Carl here._

"Mary?" he asked.

No answer.

Suddenly, her body tensed and began to jolt. Lori tried to reach forward and hold her down, but Hershel stopped her.

"Don't, it's a seizure," he said, turning her on her side. "If you hold her down, you could hurt her."

"You can't stop it?" she demanded, holding Carl close so he couldn't see.

"She has to just go through it."

The sounds of Lori and Carl crying rang in his ears. He'd backed away, let go of her hand, but quickly found he couldn't look away.

Finally, she stopped, and Hershel turned her so she was lying on her back once again.

"Her brain isn't getting enough blood," he said. "Her pressure's bottoming, he needs another transfusion."

"Okay, I'm ready."

"If I take any more out of you, your body could shut down. You could go into a coma, or cardiac arrest."

"You're wasting time!" Rick said.

And so, with hesitation, Hershel took more blood.

They went down some steps, and Shane looked around, desperately looking for an exit.

"We need a way out," he said.

"Just let me catch my breath," Otis replied, and leaned against the fence.

"Come on," Shane muttered, though he leaned against it, too. His ankle was damn near killing him.

Walkers suddenly began to pile on the fence, and they quickly ran off.

_We're comin' Mary. I swear to God, we're comin'._

"Before it happened, we were standing in the woods. And this... deer just crossed right in front of us. And I swear – it just planted itself there and looked at Carl right in the eye. And I looked at them looking at that deer and that deer looking back at them and that moment just... slipped away. Slipped away. That's what she was talking about, when she woke up. And if Carl was walking on the right instead of her..."

Lori looked at him, then Mary, and back at the ground. She said nothing.

**What did you think? I'd love to hear it.**

**Thanks for reading, have a great day, and I'll talk to you next time.**

**-SparrowEyedGirl**


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